Last week, I shared a post on Facebook about an upcoming webinar I’m presenting on “Healing Inflammation Naturally.” Since reach on Facebook nowadays is dismal at best (with more than 15,000 followers on Facebook, I’m lucky if a few thousand of those actually see my posts), I wanted to be sure to at least inform the people following my page that I am offering this webinar, I attempted to “boost” it so that more people would see it in their newsfeed.
Usually it just takes a matter of minutes, or sometimes a few hours for an ad to be approved. I waited for the approval to come through. Then, this morning, I received these two responses from Facebook:
I’m sorry, but am I living in bazzarro world?! “The image being used in the ad highlights pain points…such ads make viewers feel bad about themselves” and “Ads should not single out individuals or degrade people. We don’t accept language like ‘Are you fat?’ or ‘Are you in debt?'”
Seriously?!
We are living in a world where I’m not allowed to ask people if they are struggling with specific concerns because it might hurt their feelings??
I am ridiculously, utterly, blown away by this.
I was thinking about when Superman was at his worst health-wise. We were so desperate, so in need of help, if I would have seen a post that said, “Do you suffer from unexplained illness?” or “Do you have leaky gut?” I would have clicked and registered and been willing to pay anything to get help.
Are we really saying that we cannot promote a post that is offering to help people with specific illnesses?
This whole thing makes me realize our culture is trying to help everybody, and as a result, helping nobody.
So as not to offend someone (which obviously was not my intention), I can now help no one because seeing an image of a pain point may make them realize that oh, they actually have pain. Let’s just ignore it and pretend it’s not there.
Here’s the image I used:
And here’s the wording I used:
Did you know that depression, stomach pain, and fatigue can all be signs of chronic inflammation? Do you struggle with achy joints, neck pain, headaches, and/or other inflammation in your body? This webinar is for you!
Last month, this webinar was my most popular presentation EVER with more than 300 registrants! I’ll be sharing some of my favorite ways to manage my inflammation naturally–with healthy foods, specific supplements, and other natural solutions. Looking forward to seeing you there! Please register here (even if you can’t make it, register anyway so you get the replay link!): http://app.webinarjam.net/register/1948/d417096385
No outrageous claims.
No promises.
No “sketchy” assurances.
Shame on you, Facebook. This is censorship in its purest form. Under the guise of being thoughtful and considerate, you are limiting the rights of not only people who want to help, but the people who need to be helped.
So, tell me: am I off my rocker? Does this seem as ridiculous to you as it does to me?
Sarah Malone says
Holy cow! You are not crazy, this is so weird. I’ve never heard of such a thing! Can you contest it again? Or are you just stuck with complying?? This seems so outrageous to me!
Shanti Landon says
Thanks, Sarah! I think I’m stuck with complying since it’s in their terms of service. Just seems like such a ridiculous thing!
Darren S. says
Not off your rocker. This is ridiculous on so many levels.
Shanti Landon says
Thanks, Darren! Glad you agree!
KK says
Wow! I have repeatedly asked Facebook to remove what I consider to be pornographic images off Facebook, and most times they don’t remove them, replying that they don’t see such as offensive, but they happen to find THIS ad offensive??
Shanti Landon says
I know, SO backwards!
Lauri says
I see ads like that all the time, so something is not right.
Your not pushing a crazy drug, that has a billion side effects, that is non stop advertising on FB.
Shanti Landon says
Yes!
Starlene @ GAPS Diet Journey says
Totally ridiculous. And if it were reviewed by someone else, it probably would have gone through.
Jenny says
That’s crazy! Probably because it might shock someone out of their fb trance to take action outside of Fb, which means less money for them. How do you offer to help people if you can’t acknowledge a possible need?!
Veronique Eberhart says
How dare you claim you can ease inflammation by eating healthy food? You gonna ruin the whole industry!
If FB is even a little bit as dependent on big pharma and big food corporations for publicity revenus as the rest of the press, then this is what we have to expect. Porn someone? Sure – but healthy food – yak!
Marnita says
I’m sure Facebook is censoring you because it’s helping someone naturally and not through some pharmaceutical drug. Facebook is definitely bought by the pharmaceutical companies.
Holly says
“I can now help no one because seeing an image of a pain point may make them realize that oh, they actually have pain. Let’s just ignore it and pretend it’s not there.”
So agree…this is very bizarre considering the other things I see shared, posted and ads on FB. TONS of things about healthy guts etc….and never have I blamed the poster for MY health choices/issues. So weird that we now live in a world that you literally can’t say anything anymore.