After suffering major backlash, Twitter has decided to reinstate a pro-life ad by Rep. Marshal Blackburn (R-TN) that it deemed “inflammatory” for its references to Planned Parenthood and the sale of fetal body parts.
FoxNews.com is reporting on the story which began when Twitter decided to block a paid advertisement that featured a video of Blackburn making a strong pro-life statement.
“I’m 100 percent pro-life,” she says in the video. “I fought Planned Parenthood, and we stopped the sale of baby parts, thank God.”
Twitter blocked the ad, telling the Blackburn campaign that the comment was “deemed an inflammatory statement that is likely to evoke a strong negative reaction.”
The company said it would reinstate the ad if the comment was removed.
Blackburn refused and instead encouraged her supporters to join her in “standing up to Silicon Valley” by sharing the video on Twitter.
The confrontation set off a firestorm on social media that led to a “reconsideration” of the issue by Twitter.
“After further review, we have made the decision to allow the content in question from Rep. Blackburn’s campaign ad to be promoted on our ads platform,” a Twitter spokesperson said in an email to Recode. “While we initially determined that a small portion of the video used potentially inflammatory language, after reconsidering the ad in the context of the entire message, we believe that there is room to refine our policies around these issues. We have notified Rep. Blackburn’s campaign of this decision.”
Blackburn said she believes Twitter reversed its decision because “the American people rose up.”
“I think what has happened, the American people rose up. They are sick and tired of the liberal elites and the liberal media telling them what they’re going to listen to, and what is going to be pushed forward and broadcast and what is not, and in this example it was Twitter,” Blackburn told Fox’s Martha McCallum last night.
“And now they have reversed their decision after the American people have joined me in standing up to them, and they are going to allow the video to stand and us to push it forward.”
Blackburn called on Twitter to apologize for blocking the advertisement.
“I am appalled by Twitter’s attempt to censor my pro-life record, and I believe that the entire pro-life community deserves an apology and explanation for their actions,” Blackburn said in a statement. “I have spent my entire career fighting to protect and honor life, and I refuse to allow an organization whose stated mission is to ‘provide information instantly, without barriers’ the ability to silence our efforts to protect the unborn.”
Twitter didn’t prohibit Blackburn from promoting the ad on her own Twitter accounts, but the company wouldn’t promote it as a sponsored ad on the site.
Blackburn chaired the House panel created to investigate Planned Parenthood and fetal tissue research which resulted in recommendations stop federal funding of the nation’s largest abortion provider.
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