Facebook Removes Trump Campaign Ads Containing Symbols Reminiscent Of The Nazi Era

Advertisements and posts from the Trump campaign that contained an upside-down red triangle, a former symbol used by Nazis to identify political opponents, were removed by Facebook Inc. FB citing a policy against hate.

What Happened

On Thursday, Facebook removed the Trump campaign materials featuring the offensive symbol saying, “Our policy prohibits using a banned hate group's symbol to identify political prisoners without the context that condemns or discusses the symbol,” reported NPR.

One advertisement laid claim that dangerous “MOBS of far-left groups are running through our streets and causing absolute mayhem.” 

The Trump campaign responded in a tweet claiming the symbol is an emoji and widely used by Antifa. The campaign also said that it is not in the Anti-Defamation League Hate Symbols Database.

The League’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, told NPR that the database is not a collection of historical Nazi imagery but rather “symbols commonly used by modern extremist groups and white supremacists in the United States.”

Greenblatt also took to Twitter to explain the offensiveness of the symbol.

The Nazis used red triangles to identify their political victims in concentration camps. Using it to attack political opponents is highly offensive. @POTUS' campaign needs to learn its history, as ignorance is no excuse for using Nazi-related symbols. https://t.co/7R7aGLD7kl

— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) June 18, 2020

Why It Matters

According to NPR, the Trump advertisements had garnered more than a million impressions on Facebook, a social network with 2.5 billion users.

Media Matters For America, a left-leaning non-profit organization claimed that on Wednesday, the Trump campaign ran 88 advertisements on Facebook pages for Trump, Pence, and team Trump with the symbol.

While Twitter Inc. TWTR has taken to moderating and fact-checking Trump’s tweets, Facebook has taken the opposite approach and refused to do the same.

Earlier in March, Facebook removed a campaign advertisement regarding the official United States Census that violated the social network’s policy on publishing fake or misleading information.

Price Action

Facebook shares traded 0.24% higher at $236.50 in the after-hours session on Thursday. The shares had closed the regular session 0.17% higher at $235.94.

Image: Screenshot of Facebook posts