Facebook has restored access to an advertising account linked to the conservative children’s book publisher Heroes of Liberty — after the lockout sparked an outcry on social media. Heroes of Liberty, which has published biographies of figures such as Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett and former President Ronald Reagan, said it was told the account was locked for violating Facebook’s policy on “Low Quality or Disruptive Content.” The publisher appealed to Facebook to reconsider but was rebuffed. Facebook’s parent company Meta said Tuesday that it has now reversed course on the ban, which was first reported by Fox Business. Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the account was locked due to an “error,” though he did not elaborate. This should not have happened. It was an error and the ad account’s been restored.— Andy Stone (@andymstone) January 4, 2022 “This should not have happened. It was an error and the ad account’s been restored,” Stone wrote on Twitter. Facebook representatives did not immediately return The Post’s request for further comment. Heroes of Liberty Editor Bethany Mandel confirmed the advertising account was restored, though she said Facebook did not immediately inform the publisher of the reversal. “Update: Facebook informed several people and several members of Congress that we’ve been reinstated,” Mandel said. “They never actually told *us.* But our account looks restored, for now. We’d like to be reassured it was a mistake and that we can safely invest there.” Stone tweeted that he would “look into” why the publisher wasn’t informed of the reinstatement. Thread: My new children’s book publishing company, @HeroesOfLiberty, was dealt a real blow going into the New Year, when we were banned by Facebook. We’re a new literary start-up that publishes quality illustrated biographies of great Americans. https://t.co/V4tTEfQbAC— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) January 3, 2022 Heroes of Liberty was first informed on Dec. 23 that the account would be locked, Mandel told Fox Business. The publisher was initially told the account was disabled because “it didn’t comply with our policy on Low Quality or Disruptive Content.” The publisher attempted to appeal the ruling, only to learn the account was permanently locked. Facebook’s policy notes that ads “must not contain content leading to external landing pages that provide an unexpected or disruptive experience.” “You can no longer advertise with this ad account and its ads and assets will remain disabled. This is our final decision,” Facebook told the publisher. Mandel, also an editor for the conservative platform Ricochet, detailed the publisher’s interaction with Facebook in an op-ed for The Post. She called the decision to block the account a “financial setback” for the publisher. She asserted that users who reported the account’s ads to Facebook due to political disagreements likely triggered the ban. I’m on Fox & Friends in half an hour talking about this: Facebook shut down our hopes for an anti-woke book world https://t.co/iXTVuhvB35— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) January 4, 2022 “Apparently, an illustrated biography celebrating the achievements of President Reagan is no longer permissible according to our Big Tech cultural overlords,” Mandel wrote. “They have informed us that our content is ‘disruptive’ and locked our ad account, our data banks, our digital assets. “They sunk our investment just like that, with a curt e-mail message. We appealed and were informed that the decision is final and permanent,” she added. Conservative politicians and pundits have long accused Facebook of exhibiting bias against right-leaning viewpoints. Facebook has denied the claims. When conservatives start independent publishing outlets and platforms, #BigTech companies like Facebook now work to destroy them. This latest example is particularly galling. https://t.co/EkT41avNII— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 3, 2022 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was among those who ripped the social-media platform’s ban of the Heroes of Liberty account. “When conservatives start independent publishing outlets and platforms, #BigTech companies like Facebook now work to destroy them. This latest example is particularly galling,” Cruz tweeted.
