Twitter Blocks Blackburn Ad That Claims She Halted ‘Sale Of Baby Body Parts’

UNITED STATES - JULY 13: Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., talks with reporters in the Capitol on July 13, 2017. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
UNITED STATES - JULY 13: Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., talks with reporters in the Capitol on July 13, 2017. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) (CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Twitter has blocked a top Republican representative from advertising her Senate campaign video on the social media outlet because of its “inflammatory” claims about Planned Parenthood.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) announced her Senate campaign over the weekend with a video that painted her as a “hardcore, card-carrying Tennessee conservative” who is a “100 percent pro-life” candidate who “stopped the sale of baby body parts.”

Twitter said that line violated its advertising policies, according to an email obtained by Politico.

“It appears that the line in this video specific to ‘stopped the sale of baby body parts’ has been deemed an inflammatory statement that is likely to evoke a strong negative reaction,” a Twitter staffer wrote in an email to a consulting firm working for Blackburn’s campaign. “If this is omitted from the video it will be permitted to serve.”

The cryptic line in her campaign announcement is likely referring to Blackburn’s work leading a House investigation into Planned Parenthood after a video surfaced in 2015 that appeared to show the group profiting from the sale of fetal tissue, which has been illegal since 1993. Abortion providers can be paid for shipping and handling the material, New York magazine reported. 

Planned Parenthood consistently denied wrongdoing and never faced any criminal charges, but the anti-abortion activists who filmed it did. Those charges were eventually dropped. 

Blackburn is still able to promote the video by posting it on Twitter, but can’t pay to promote it. She’s been using the censorship by the social media giant to boost her campaign announcement. 

Latest Livewire
33
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. Meanwhile we haven’t heard a peep from Daleiden and his lawyers since the judge found them in contempt of court and hit with a heavy fine. Maybe Marsha The Preistess of the Fetus will use some of her millions in the bank to cover those fines…

    …Oh, who am I kidding???

  2. Marsha , Marsha , Marsha…
    What about the baby body parts that are blasted apart from guns in this country…
    Do they count?
    Just askin’

  3. “It appears that the line in this video specific to ‘stopped the sale of baby body parts’ has been deemed an inflammatory statement that is likely to evoke a strong negative reaction,” a Twitter staffer wrote

    Ah, this is Twitter Talk for, “The video contained either a lie or a conservative maniac’s fantasy, depending on if the maniac in question actually believes PP sells baby booty”.

  4. If she’s going to wage a PR campaign to take on Big Tech as expemplified by Twitter directly, she may find out the Our Billionaires are smarter than hers. And they employ flacks who can turn the attacks against her.

    Please Proceed, Madame Dufus.

  5. Again, another rePuklican lying for Jesus. Good for twitter but if the ad will provoke the bad reaction they say it will, why not state that this statement is a lie?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

27 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for paulw Avatar for alliebean Avatar for josephebacon Avatar for marincousa Avatar for ncsteve Avatar for asanders91360 Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for becca656 Avatar for boscobrown Avatar for skippyflipjack Avatar for sickneffintired Avatar for pb Avatar for zrx1100 Avatar for mrf Avatar for fiftygigs Avatar for benthere Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for antisachetdethe Avatar for canary02 Avatar for katscherger Avatar for loss_mentality Avatar for the_loan_arranger Avatar for outsidertrading618

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: