Facebook is facing more censorship and bias allegations from a Christian group that opposes abortion.
The West Virginia-based ministry Warriors for Christ repeatedly has had its Facebook pages removed by the social media giant, according to the Christian Post. Its main page, which has more than 225,000 followers, was removed again last week, allegedly for “hateful, threatening or obscene” content.
Ministry leader Pastor Rich Penkoski told the Post that they missed out on vital opportunities to help people as a result.
“When Facebook pulled our page [for the first time], we were actually counseling with a young woman who was suicidal,” Penkoski said.
The biggest issue seems to be the ministry’s stance on homosexuality, Penkoski said. However, they also stand strong for unborn babies’ rights and sexual purity, he said.
“We talk about abortion. We talk about adultery. We talk about fornication. Nobody ever talks about that stuff,” he said.
Facebook removed the ministry’s page on Dec. 29 but reinstated it on Jan. 2 as a result of an online petition, according to the report. On Friday, however, the ministry said its page was down again.
This is the message Penkowski received from Facebook last week: “Your Page ‘Warriors for Christ’ has been removed for violating our Terms of Use. A Facebook Page is a distinct presence used solely for business or promotional purposes. Among other things, Pages that are hateful, threatening or obscene are not allowed. We also take down Pages that attack an individual or group, or that are set up by an unauthorised individual. If your Page was removed for any of the above reasons, it will not be reinstated. Continued misuse of Facebook’s features could result in the permanent loss of your account.”
Penkoski said they have received death threats because of their ministry’s outreach. He said they have been very clear that they do not want to harm anyone, they simply want to preach the truth.
“We specifically ask Facebook, what exact standards of yours did we violate? People have seen what has happened to us with the death threats and everything else. That’s actual hate speech — calling for the death of someone else. I don’t care who does it. If you are Christian or not, that is hate speech,” he said.
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The Post reported Warriors for Christ started using its old youth ministry page this week after Facebook blocked its main page. However, LifeNews could not access the youth ministry page either on Tuesday morning. It is not clear if Facebook removed that page as well.
Pro-life advocates have become increasingly concerned about the liberal bias and online censorship on widely-used social media platforms.
In October, Twitter rejected an ad from pro-life Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn because she mentioned Planned Parenthood’s sales of aborted baby body parts. Twitter later reversed its decision after LifeNews and other news outlets reported about the matter.
Facebook and Twitter have blocked other pro-life advertisements in the past as well.
In September, Live Action, the youth-centered pro-life organization known for its undercover investigations of Planned Parenthood, said Twitter has been censoring its ads. Live Action and founder Lila Rose said the social media site blocked their ability to advertise and told them to change information on their websites if they want to start advertising again.
Twitter also refused to run an ad from the Susan B. Anthony List in the fall because it contained the phrase “killing babies.”
In 2015, Facebook also refused to allow Live Action News to advertise one of its stories because “the image or video thumbnail may shock or evoke a negative response from viewers.” The image was of baby Eli Thompson who was born without a nose.
Facebook became a subject of national news in 2016 after some of its workers admitted that they suppressed conservative news stories in favor of liberal ones. LifeNews.com, which is the leading pro-life news website on the Internet and the only one specifically devoted to pro-life issues, has long believed that Facebook has been suppressing its traffic.
