Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama blasted Facebook this week for briefly blocking her campaign’s Facebook page, accusing the technology giant of political suppression.
According to the governor, Facebook suspended her page for violating its “Community Standards.”
Ivey emphasized her strong support for Alabamians receiving the vaccine in an interview with Fox News Digital but maintained to oppose any federal attempts to enforce immunizations.
She claimed that Facebook collaborated with President Joe Biden’s administration to silence conservatives over issues such as opposition to federal coronavirus vaccine mandates. “They’re just trying to get in the way of conservatives having the opportunity to be vocal and to practice our philosophy. And I’m just not going to have it,” she said to Fox.
Ivey had made a statement to her campaign’s Facebook page on September 10, expressing her opposition to President Joe Biden’s day-before announcement of broad employer vaccine mandates, in response to Biden’s comments about responding to governors who did not comply with the mandates.
According to her, she was one of the first leaders to emphasize the necessity of vaccination. “The mandate that President Biden has rolled out puts an extra burden on our already belabored and beleaguered businesses and employees. And it’s just unacceptable. So I believe in the vaccine. I just don’t believe in mandating any level of government. That’s just not the role of government,” the governor stated.
“You bet I’m standing in the way. And if he thinks he’s going to move me out of the way, he’s got another thing coming,” she added.
According to Fox News Digital, Ivey shared screenshots from her Facebook profile, which showed that her page had been removed.
A Facebook representative later told Fox that the page was “mistakenly restricted for less than an hour for reasons unrelated to any posted content.”
As Facebook explained to Fox News, the ban had nothing to do with politics. “Our policies apply across the board regardless of a person’s political affiliation,” according to a statement. “When we learned of our mistake, the page was quickly restored,” the spokesperson stated.
