Dr. Scott Jensen, a former state senator and current candidate for governor, was banned from advertising on Facebook this week for “repeatedly” sharing content “that has been debunked by third-party fact checkers.”
“It’s happened. Facebook has reduced our reach by up to 90% and banned me from advertising — all of this while I’m being vindicated in real time about our government’s response to the pandemic,” the Republican said in an email blast to supporters Wednesday.
It’s unclear how long Jensen will be banned from creating Facebook ads — a key resource for political campaigns — but Facebook has a habit of placing restrictions on pages indefinitely without providing page owners with any clear timeline.
Alpha News had its distribution reduced in May, meaning only a certain percentage of followers actually see Alpha News posts in their newsfeeds. The restrictions still apply, more than two months later, and Facebook has rejected multiple appeals.
Jensen’s page was also slapped with a “reduced distribution” restriction because of his “repeated sharing of false news.”
“You can feel it: the absurdity, the hypocrisy. ‘Fact checkers’ employed by far-left political war machines, who unilaterally have the power to silence dissenting voices, are destroying public accountability — especially as their narratives fall apart,” Jensen said.
Gov. Tim Walz’s campaign used the ban in a fundraising pitch, saying Jensen is “too dangerous to hold the highest office in our state.”
Jensen’s popularity skyrocketed last year as he became known for his forceful criticism of Walz’s COVID-19 lockdowns. His ban comes two weeks after the White House admitted to colluding with tech companies to censor “disinformation” on COVID-19 vaccines.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
