Facebook says anti-Trump ad includes ‘partly false’ information

Facebook has slapped a warning label on the Lincoln Project’s advertisement criticizing President Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic after PolitiFact rated the ad by the George Conway–led Republican group “false.”

The Lincoln Project’s ad, “Mourning in America,” is critical of the recently passed CARES Act that includes the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides loans to small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

PolitiFact faulted The Lincoln Project for singling out Trump for problems with the program when “virtually all congressional Democrats” also supported it. The legislation was approved by the House by a 419-6 vote. The Senate backed it in a 96-0 vote. 

Facebook wrote that the ad included “partly false information” based on checks by independent fact-checkers.

The Lincoln Project responded on its Facebook page by alleging the president’s “allies at Facebook” are censoring the ad, while making no mention of the original fact-check by PolitiFact.

“Donald Trump’s allies at Facebook are censoring our ‘Mourning in America’ ad with a fact check,” the group writes.

“They don’t want American voters to see this ad,” the group adds. “Pitch in now to fight back and make sure it airs in every single swing state possible.”

PolitiFact in a Thursday fact-check wrote that the ad was misleading because it implied the CARES Act didn’t support small businesses.

“It’s wrong to say that coronavirus relief legislation didn’t support ordinary small businesses. The CARES Act included the Paycheck Protection Program, which was designed to support smaller employers,” it wrote.

The Lincoln Project was founded in December. Its members include political strategists Steve Schmidt and John Weaver, who both worked on the late Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) 2008 presidential campaign, and Conway, the husband of Trump White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.

Lincoln Project co-founder Jennifer Horn told The Hill in a statement that it will “vigorously” make the case that Facebook’s verdict “is in error.”

“The Lincoln Project stands firmly behind every claim we have made in the “Mourning in America” ad as well as every other ad we’ve made,” said Horn in a statement to The Hill. “Facebook is in error and we will vigorously make that case.”

“The President — and his narcissistic, dangerous failures of leadership — have put the health and well-being of every American at risk. The Lincoln Project will continue to take every avenue available to bring the truth about Donald Trump and his failed presidency to the American people,” Horn said.