Mark Zuckerberg-owned Facebook and Instagram targeted a clothing company critical of gender ideology instead of cracking down on advertising of illegal drugs running rampant on their platforms.
The Wall Street Journal exposed the social media networks in a Wednesday article for allegedly profiting off of ads that directed users to websites selling illegal drugs. The Journal reported that it found dozens of such ads while noting that the non-profit Tech Transparency Project had found 450 of them. In response to this article, Jennifer Sey, founder of XX-XY Athletics, a pro-women sports company, accused Meta of handicapping her company’s ads all while allowing the placement of illegal drug ads.
Instagram “will run ads for illegal drugs including cocaine but severely limits the reach of an ad (essentially shadow-banning) for @xx_xyathletics, a brand standing up to protect women's sports. How is this the world?” Sey wrote on X.
Sey accused Meta of more than just misplaced priorities. In a July 3 Substack post, she explained that Meta restricted her company’s ability to buy ads targeting the followers of high-profile accounts that share Sey’s views. Meta’s censorship reportedly occurred while they placed no such limits on ads targeting the followers of leftist accounts.
Specifically, Meta did not allow XX-XY Athletics to target the followers of three women’s rights activists: former collegiate swimmer-turned-women's rights advocate Riley Gaines, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) and social media personality Isabel Brown. Yet Meta did not place restrictions on targeting the followers of leftist former soccer player Megan Rapinoe or President Joe Biden.
Sey said that this greatly limited the effectiveness of her company’s social media ads and cost her a great deal of money. The XX-XY Athletics founder said that “targeting the followers of influencers who align with a brand’s message increases return on ad spend by 3 to 4x.” She explained that her company’s inability to buy targeted ads meant that XX-XY Athletics would have to spend far more to have the same effect.
Here's the ad from @xx_xyathletics that was shadow-banned. This is considered "offensive" in today's upside down world. pic.twitter.com/tuU96MC0Dx
— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) July 31, 2024
And while Meta was tilting the scale to favor transgender activists and the left, the psychedelic drug DMT and cocaine were being advertised on their platform, the Journal reported.
Meta claimed it took down many of these drug ads in 48 hours and banned the users responsible, but has not answered for censoring XX-XY Athletics. MRC Free Speech America Director Michael Morris made clear that Meta’s takeaway from this event should be reassessing its priorities, not more censorship. “More constitutionally protected speech, not less,” said Morris. “That should be the priority of an American company like Meta, particularly during a highly contentious Olympics where women’s sports are once again front and center.”
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