Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Saturday, Apr 20, 2024

Facebook Removed Trump Campaign Ads That Invoked Nazi Symbols

Facebook Removed Trump Campaign Ads That Invoked Nazi Symbols

But one lawmaker had more tough questions for the company.

In a House Intelligence hearing Thursday, Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of cybersecurity, addressed President Donald Trump's campaign ads that used an upside-down red triangle reminiscent of a Nazi symbol alongside fearful messaging about anti-fascism activists.

“What sanctions will you take against the Trump campaign?” Rep. Eric Swalwell asked. “Because this is not the first time an ad has been taken down. I believe it’s the third time.”

On Thursday, Facebook removed the ad after the Washington Post pointed out that the Nazis used a red triangle to mark prisoners in concentration camps.

Kandy Zabka, a Texas-based cyber strategist and owner of Komfort Linux, said that she reported the Trump campaign page on Wednesday after seeing the same red triangle ad that Facebook eventually took down.

Zabka’s report was reviewed and Facebook initially determined that it doesn’t go against community standards, according to screenshots provided to BuzzFeed News. The report was updated Thursday afternoon to say that the offending piece of content was removed, but the page remained in tact. Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


As it came under fire, the Trump campaign defended its use of the image, saying on Twitter that the triangle was both an emoji and a “symbol widely used by Antifa.” The campaign posted an image of an upside-down red triangle with the words “antifa” scrawled across it as proof.


But when NBC reporter Brandy Zadrozny, unable to find it through both regular and reverse-image searches, asked for the source of the image, the campaign pointed to an obscure T-shirt store purportedly run by a man in Spain.

As the removal was unfolding, representatives from Facebook, Google, and Twitter were testifying before the House Committee on Intelligence, which was holding a hearing on election security.

Toward the end of the hearing, Rep. Swalwell, a Democrat from California, asked Gleicher about Facebook’s removal of the ads.

Gleicher repeated Facebook’s statement on hate symbols not being allowed on the platform, saying the company made an exception for discussion or condemnation.

“You obviously want to allow someone to put up a symbol to condemn it or to discuss it, but in a situation where we don't see either of those we don’t allow it on the platform and we will remove it,” Gleicher said.

“That’s what we saw in this case in this ad, and anywhere this symbol is used we will take the same action. So we’ll be consistent in enforcing wherever either our systems identify those symbols and as you’d expect when we identify something like this we get it within our system so we can look for other instances where it might appear. So we can find and remove it automatically.”

Swalwell also asked how many symbols a campaign would have to use before its page and account are removed from the platform. Gleicher was unable to respond, saying his focus is not on ad policies, but pledged to follow up.

Facebook has previously removed an ad from the Trump campaign asking “Should we deport illegals?” because it used fake buttons. The company also removed Trump ads in March for violating policies around misleading content about the US census after initially allowing them to run.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×