Facebook Denied My Attempt at Self-Promotion, Because Guns

It will probably surprise exactly NO people who are involved with guns and are on Facebook that a recent attempt I made to promote one of my blog posts was DENIED by Facebook.

When I started this blog four years ago, I simply wanted a way to discipline my writing since I had no other outlets for it, because I didn’t know anything about guns. And then some people started looking at my posts. And then I learned more about guns. And so I wanted more people to look at my posts. I am a greedy author.

I know alot more people use Facebook to connect with topics that interest them than follow blogs, so I thought I would experiment with using Facebook advertising to “boost” one of my blog posts (which are cross-posted to Facebook). I chose my post on the lawsuit against Bushmaster. It was a critique of the lawsuit blaming Bushmaster, and especially Bushmaster’s advertising, for causing the mass homicide at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The post was called “Bushmaster is the Worst Marketer in the History of Guns” — the worst because they have utterly failed at getting homicidal maniacs to use their AR-platform rifles — and Facebook happily accepted my “ad” (boosted post). And it worked. For a few dollars, more people looked at my Facebook cross-post, interacted with the post on Facebook, liked my page on Facebook, and viewed both my Bushmaster post and my blog in general.

So, I decided I would try to boost a post every couple of weeks. I thought the post I wrote about the Concealed Carry Fashion Show that was held at the recent United States Concealed Carry Association’s Concealed Carry Expo would be perfect. It was a fun and well-produced show, and it highlighted some interesting companies (many smaller) who are working to address serious issues related to carrying a concealed firearm.

The post doesn’t promote the sale of firearms in any way. Indeed, it hardly mentions guns except in connection with the idea that “you can’t see the gun – that’s the point”! And yet, Facebook denied the ad, citing their policy:

Your ad wasn’t approved because it promotes the sale of ammunition, firearms, Paintball guns, BB guns, or other weapons, including knives, daggers, swords, bows, arrows, knuckle dusters, and nunchucks. Advertising the sale of weapons or leading to destinations where the business primarily focuses on the sale of weapons is not allowed.

Keep in mind that ads can promote advocacy or interest groups that help connect people who have interests related to these products, as long as it doesn’t lead to the sale of any weapons.

Just. So. Lame. Why did they accept the Bushmaster post? Did their computer robot police like the title? (If so, they utterly misunderstood it.)

I thought to appeal the denial, but why bother? I wanted, but don’t need (in the sense of earning a living) more viewers of my blog. So I will keep my money and Facebook can keep its bias, and I will try to find other ways of earning more readers.