Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Facebook restores banned ad promoting renters rights after tweet goes viral

Facebook restores banned ad promoting renters rights after tweet goes viral

Ronan Burtenshaw’s publication was labelled as discriminatory and blocked from being promoted

Facebook will restore a banned advert promoting an opinion piece calling for renters rights, after the company’s automated systems blocked the post for “discrimination”. But critics say the error will be repeated unless Facebook acts to protect campaigners on its platform.

On Monday Ronan Burtenshaw, the editor of Tribune Magazine, received a message from Facebook saying one of his publication’s posts had been blocked from being promoted on the site. The story, headlined The Rent is Too Damn High, calls for “a struggle of renters against the rentiers” and concludes that solving the housing crisis requires a massive programme of council house creation.

Burtenshaw found it had been banned from being shared as a promoted post because the “ad doesn’t comply with our policy on discriminatory practices”. His first conclusion was that the company was trying to protect landlords from discrimination.


After Burtenshaw’s tweet went viral and the Guardian queried its removal, Facebook changed course and restored the ad. “The ad placed by the Tribune was rejected in error by our systems but is now active and will appear in the ad library shortly,” a Facebook spokesperson said. “While our review is largely automated, we rely on our teams to build and train these systems, and in some cases to manually review ads. Sometimes both machines and humans make mistakes and an ad may be rejected in error, but we endeavour to restore them as soon as possible.”

But Tribune’s post isn’t the only call for better housing policy to have been blocked from the social network. Others, including Martin Lennon, a Labour councillor , have experienced the same issue. His campaigns to build more council housing in Scotland were also blocked for discriminatory practices.

The problem seems to lie with Facebook’s attempts to prevent discrimination in adverts for rentals. In 2019 the company was charged with violating the US Fair Housing Act. It was alleged that its targeted advertising allowed landlords to discriminate on the basis of race, colour, national origin, religion, familial status, sex and disability.

As a result, Burtenshaw says, Facebook has gone too far in the opposite direction. “Facebook’s policies have accidentally banned campaigning for tenant’s rights on Facebook. It seems like anything that’s targeted by age or region that’s related to housing is something that they’re flagging up – but the effect of it is that if we do a piece on tenant organising, that gets flagged and can’t be advertised.

“Given that Facebook’s whole algorithm is written to massively advantage people who put money into the system, it means you can’t get your message across.”

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
×