Facebook Removes Trump Campaign's 'Census' Ads--Update

By Emily Glazer and Janet Adamy

Facebook Inc. removed Trump campaign ads that referred to a census, saying they violated a company policy aimed at preventing disinformation and other interference with the nationwide 2020 census, which goes online next week.

The ads, which began running on the social network this week, asked people to take the "Official 2020 Congressional District Census" and then directed users to a website for fundraising to support Mr. Trump's reelection. "The information we gather from this survey will help us craft our strategies for YOUR CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT," the ads said.

Facebook said Thursday that it was the first time the company removed a Trump campaign ad for violating its census interference policy. "There are policies to prevent confusion around the U.S. Census, and this is an example of those being enforced," a Facebook spokesman said.

The ads were paid for by Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint fundraising committee of Donald J. Trump for President Inc. and the Republican National Committee. Spokespeople for Mr. Trump's reelection effort didn't respond to requests for comment.

Facebook and other social media platforms are under scrutiny for the way they handle political ads to prevent disinformation during this year's election season, and many of those same concerns have also come up with the 2020 census.

--Natalie Andrews contributed to this article.

Write to Emily Glazer at emily.glazer@wsj.com and Janet Adamy at janet.adamy@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 05, 2020 16:59 ET (21:59 GMT)

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