Listen to this article

Democrats have slammed Facebook and Donald Trump for an ad that directed the social media company’s users to the president’s campaign fundraising website and disguised as an official census form, as American people prepare for a once-a-decade headcount that will be used to determine the makeup of Congress and how federal spending reaches communities across the United States. It is noteworthy that the ads appeared in thousands of posts and it said, “The president needs you to take the Official 2020 Congressional District Census today”, and directs users to a website where a large banner says “Official 2020 Congressional District Census”. The link redirects users to a survey asking visitors regarding their political party affiliation, whether they support the president, and where they get their news.

It was followed by a request for a donation to the president’s campaign and it was the violation of Facebook’s policies on misrepresentation in political ads. The U.S House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the form an absolute lie and said the company is messing with who we are as Americans. Point to be noted that Facebook ultimately decided to remove the ads given the policies in place to avoid confusion around the official U.S Census. Pelosi said, “I know the profit motive is their business model, but it should not come at the cost of counting who is in our country so that we can provide the services and the rest. The beautiful diversity of America is what this administration fears, they need the Census undercounted. They’re misrepresenting Facebook, and Facebook is saying that misrepresentation is consistent with their policy”.

Pelosi said that the U.S Congress also asked Facebook to remove the website from the platform. Moreover, 4 Democratic House members sent a letter to the Republican National Committee to stop online ads and physical mail sent across the United States that resembles Census documents. She added, “It undermines who we are. It might be good for their profits, but it’s not what counts for us”. Democrats have feared a Census undercount, which would exclude hard to count populations like undocumented people and communities of color. Republicans are alleged of turning the Census data into a partisan concern. At least a dozen Republican governors aren’t devoting any resources to Census efforts in their states.