Facebook Bans Trump Ad, That Condemns Antifa Violence, Citing 'Organized Hate'
Campaign ad denounces violent rioting and destruction, Facebook says it's 'hate speech'
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Facebook has removed ad content posted by President Donald Trump's campaign, alleging the posts violated the company's "hate speech" policies.
The campaign ran advertisements that condemned leftist groups, for promoting violence and rioting across America, while encouraging people to sign a petition opposing the anarcho-communist group Antifa.
The posts included an inverted red triangle that a Trump campaign official said is used by members of Antifa.
However, left-wing activists countered that the symbol was used by the Nazis, and campaigned to get the content taken down.
Facebook removed the ad - that denounced Antifa and acts of domestic terrorism and political violence - citing that it goes against their policies on promoting "organized hate."
Attorney General William Barr described the actions of Antifa during the George Floyd riots as domestic terrorism, with President Trump also confirming that he plans to label Antifa a domestic terrorist organization.
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According to Breitbart, the now-deleted Trump ad featured an inverted red-and-black triangle to symbolize the Antifa movement, which uses the red-and-black color scheme in their badges, flags, and propaganda as a form of ideological identification.
Red-and-black is the historical colors of the anarcho-communist movement, and red triangles are an Antifa symbol according to products available for purchase.
In the now-deleted ad, the official Team Trump Facebook account said:
Dangerous MOBS of far-left groups are running through our streets and causing absolute mayhem.
They are DESTROYING our cities and rioting – it’s absolute madness.
It’s important that EVERY American comes together at a time like this to send a united message that we will not stand for their radical actions any longer.
We’re calling on YOU to make a public statement and add your name to stand with President Trump against ANTIFA.
Please add your name IMMEDIATELY to stand with your President and his decision to declare ANTIFA a Terrorist Organization.
But Facebook, and far-left organizations that regularly run cover for Antifa, said the red-and-black triangle was a “hate” symbol because it is similar to a symbol used by Nazi Germany in concentration camps.
Facebook apparently bought this argument, even though the Trump team’s post was clearly about Antifa.
“We removed these posts and ads for violating our policy against organized hate,” a company spokesman told New York Daily News.
“Our policy prohibits using a banned hate group’s symbol to identify political prisoners without the context that condemns or discusses the symbol.”
This is an emoji.🔻
— Trump War Room - Text TRUMP to 88022 & get the APP (@TrumpWarRoom) June 18, 2020
It's also a symbol widely used by Antifa. It was used in an ad about Antifa.
It is not in the ADL's Hate Symbols Database. pic.twitter.com/V4fK8QWHKD
In a post on Twitter, the Trump team posted an image showing the inverted red-and-black triangle being used by Antifa, in response to a Media Matters post accusing the campaign of using Nazi imagery.
“This is an emoji. It’s also a symbol widely used by Antifa. It was used in an ad about Antifa,” said the Trump team.
“It is not in the ADL’s Hate Symbols Database.”
In a comment to the New York Daily News, the Trump team again pointed out the symbol’s links to Antifa.
“The red triangle is an Antifa symbol,” said Trump campaign spokesman Ken Farnaso who linked to the symbol being used in Antifa-branded products.
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This is not the first time Facebook has deliberately censored political ads from the Trump team.
Ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, Facebook censored a Trump ad about the dangers of mass immigration.
In a comment to Breitbart News, Trump Campaign Director of Communications Tim Murtaugh said: “The inverted red triangle is a symbol used by Antifa, so it was included in an ad about Antifa.
"We would note that Facebook still has an inverted red triangle emoji in use, which looks exactly the same, so it’s curious that they would target only this ad.
"The image is also not included in the Anti-Defamation League’s database of symbols of hate.
"But it is ironic that it took a Trump ad to force the media to implicitly concede that Antifa is a hate group.”
