By Barbara Falconer Newhall
Here’s the message I got when I tried to run an ad for a Facebook post that linked back to my blog post “Brett Kavanaugh: The One Teenager We Know for Sure He Assaulted:”
“Not approved.”
My FB post was too political.
Like lots of people these days, I have a personal Facebook site that keeps me in touch with friends, family and colleagues. But I also have a professional Facebook Page — Barbara Falconer Newhall Writer, which is open to the public and which I use to promote my book, “Wrestling with God.”
If you have a professional Page, Facebook lets you pay money to promote a post you have put on your Page. Pay $20 or more and the FB algorithms will plop your post on people’s FB sites all over the world. Or just in California. Or Michigan. And just to women. Or men. Or to over-50s only, no millennials allowed.
As is my habit, after I wrote a blog post here about Brett Kavanaugh, I posted a link on my Barbara Falconer Newhall Writer Page taking readers back to this website and my thoughts about Brett Kavanaugh. No problem.
But when I tried to pay some money to run an ad for that FB post — to increase its reach — the mighty folks at FB refused to approve the ad. I was informed that my FB post was “related to politics or national issues.” Which, of course it was: in filling out the FB “boost your post” form, I had stated that I wanted to target recipients interested in things like Roe v. Wade, SCOTUS, Brett Kavanaugh, pro-life and pro-choice.
Naturally, my first reaction to the rejection was, “Hey, wait. I’m ready to pay $30 for an ad. Who are you, FB, to tell me what I can and can’t promote on my professional Barbara Falconer Newhall Writer page? It’s my page.”
I refused to fill out the form. But a day later, after a little thought and a good night’s sleep, I decided that handing over the information that FB wanted was worth the chance to get my Kavanaugh post out there.
After a little more thought, I felt the information FB was demanding was not outrageous — my street address, a photo of my driver’s license, and the last four digits of my social security number. If I had asked to publish my opinions in the San Francisco Chronicle or the East Bay Times, the vetting — from the ad department or the editorial department — would have been as just rigorous in other ways.
A few days from now, a code will arrive at my house via snail mail and I’ll punch it in. My home address thus verified over at FB, I’ll have my Facebook Identity Confirmation. I’ll be able to pay my thirty bucks and boost my Kavanaugh post to the world. (With a little luck it won’t be too late, and Republican senators won’t have rushed Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court.)
Sad to say, I don’t think the measures FB is imposing on folks like me will suffice. They won’t keep Putin’s Russia and other bad actors from using Facebook, Twitter, et al, from disrupting American elections and souring public discourse around the world. But it’s a start.
For more on security at FB, check out the New York Times’ interesting article today about FB’s election War Room.
Thoughts, anyone? Was handing over my info to Facebook a cop-out, or a reasonable response to a reasonable request?
The Facebook Identity Confirmation Page
Here’s an image and some of the text that came up on FB when I tried to place the ad:
Running Ads Related to Politics or National IssuesWe’re asking people who want to run ads related to politics or issues of national importance to confirm their identity. This is part of our efforts to increase the transparency and authenticity of our ads, and know more about who’s paying for them . . .
None of the information you provide to confirm your identity will be shown on your profile or in ads . . . .
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