DSCC Executive Director Scott Fairchild issued the following statement on the continued refusal from Facebook and Google to lift their indefinite post-election political ad bans:
“With less than 50 days to go until the runoff elections in Georgia and critically important voter deadlines approaching rapidly, Facebook and Google’s continued refusal to lift their ban on political ads remains unreasonable and indefensible. These misguided ad bans ignore the actual problems these platforms have with the rampant spread of organic disinformation, and the end result is voter suppression that helps Republicans and hurts participation in our democracy. Every day closer we get to the voter registration and absentee ballot request deadlines, the more harm this does. It’s now been more than two weeks since the November general election – it’s past time for Facebook and Google to provide transparency and fix this.”
It’s been another week since Facebook and Google admitted to their plans to continue extending post-election bans on political ads, and in that time neither platform has provided any further clarity behind their reasoning or a clear timeline of when we can expect political ads to return. The continued ban on political ads disproportionately hurts the Ossoff and Warnock campaign outreach efforts – a benefit to both Senators Loeffler and Perdue.
The ban affects major upcoming runoff deadlines for Georgians – the voter registration deadline is looming in less than a month on December 7, and early voting will begin in just over a month on December 14. Given the unusual timing of the runoff election, campaigns will have to do more voter outreach and mobilization than ever before to ensure Georgians know how and when to vote. Facebook and Google’s political ad bans are a gift to Republicans relying on suppressing voter registration and turnout to win.
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