Facebook Is A Bully!

Facebook is a bully!!!!

I write a newsletter for residents of Martin County, Florida about local government. I also write pieces about Florida and the U.S. economy and government which appear mostly on Medium and blogs. While the newsletter goes to 20,000 email addresses, my other articles rely heavily on Facebook boosts to garner readers.

Since the election, Facebook has refused to accept my boosted posts. They claim they are of a political nature as if I were running ads as a political party or candidate. This is ridiculous. No one who reads what I write could possibly think so.

Through the years, I complied with all of Facebook’s ridiculous requirements to run ads. I provided a copy of my passport and driver’s license to insure I was a real person. Before I was approved, it took two months to verify that I was a real person and not a bot. Almost laughably, part of the verification process is a letter they send in a plain white envelope without identification to your address using snail mail.

Even though I have never used crude language, made outlandish claims, supported any political party or endorsed any candidate for office, my page was labeled as political instead of what it is…a place to write about public policy. I wonder if the Washington Post is subject to the same restrictions.

I knew that I would have problems when last year I tried to advertise a piece I wrote about a local seafood festival. I used a photo of an old fisherman smoking a pipe. They refused to…