Facebook has added a fact check to a
political ad targeting Joe Biden and Michigan Senator Gary Peters.
The ad, which is only being run in
Michigan, attacks Biden and Peters' support for the Equality Act, a
federal LGBT protections bill that stalled in the U.S. Senate after
clearing the House. President Donald Trump has signaled his
opposition to the legislation, while Biden has called the bill a
priority and Peters is a co-sponsor.
In the ad from the American Principles
Projects, a narrator claims that the Equality Act would “destroy
girls' sports” by allowing transgender athletes to compete.
“All female athletes want is a fair
shot at competition, at a scholarship, at a title, at victory,” the
ad states. “But what if that shot was taken away by a competitor
who claims to be a girl but was born a boy? Senator Gary Peters and
Joe Biden support legislation that would destroy girls' sports.”
A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to
the Washington Blade that the platform had placed a fact check
on the ad.
“Our third party fact checkers have
rated this content which means it is not allowed to run as an ad and
any organic posts will receive a label,” Facebook
said.
The American Principles Project is
vocally opposed to LGBT rights, including marriage equality. The
group has released three ads that use anti-transgender themes to
attack Democratic support for the Equality Act.
Last week, the Human Rights Campaign
(HRC), the nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, called on social
media platforms to take down the ads or label them as misinformation.
HRC President Alphonso David called Facebook's move “a great first
step.”
“The American Principles Project is a
hate group blatantly lying about the Equality Act and misrepresenting
the transgender community,” David said in a statement.
“While this is a great first step, we
will continue to dialogue with Twitter, YouTube, and other social
media platforms to ensure that APP and their misleading
advertisements are labeled for the misinformation they are or removed
entirely.”
“APP wants a future where LGBTQ
people can be fired, denied housing, refused business services or
health care solely because of who they are. But we will continue to
hold them accountable and expose their lies,” he added.
The American Principles Project said
that Facebook had “caved to a pressure campaign by far-left
activists” and would appeal the decision.