Facebook allowed conspiracy and militia groups to espouse violent rhetoric and organize violence that ended in tragedy in Kenosha, says 5th CD candidate.

Brookfield, WI – The Tom Palzewicz campaign for the Fifth Congressional District seat in Washington will no longer include advertising on Facebook and Instagram. They have cut all ad support on those platforms.

"Our decision is about ethics," said Palzewicz. "Facebook has been inconsistent or too late in their efforts to control extreme content and other practices that harm our social wellbeing. They haven't taken appropriate action amidst the civil unrest in Kenosha following the shooting of Jacob Blake." Facebook failed to remove "call to arms" posts by militia groups leading to violence erupting and the killing of two protesters by Kyle Rittenhouse.

"In addition, Facebook has a long-standing history with privacy issues. Privacy breaches are unethical and unacceptable, especially when they impact our democracy. As was the case in 2016 with Cambridge Analytica when they purchased Facebook data on tens of millions of Americans without their knowledge to build a 'psychological warfare tool,' which was unleashed on U.S. voters to help elect Donald Trump as president."

Facebook allowed conspiracy and militia groups to espouse violent rhetoric and organize violence that ended in tragedy in Kenosha. The seeming lack of professional standards and ethics is a major red flag for Palzewicz, a U.S. Navy veteran. "An absolute essential in a democratic society is a free and open press," Palzewicz explained. "But with freedom comes responsibility and we have social media platforms who fail to have the proper degree of journalistic integrity. Our campaign is about integrity and being transparent. We, therefore, will not advertise with any Mark Zuckerberg run company. We are pulling our advertising."

Palzewicz has long advocated for publicly-funded elections to overturn Citizens United and get big special-interest dollars out of any campaign. It's all about having a level playing field. "So much of political advertising and social media coverage is fraught with misinformation and is meant to be divisive. I believe we must demand better. Character and integrity count."