Children's book publisher claims 'anti-American' bias after Facebook disables account


Facebook has permanently disabled the advertising account of conservative children's book publisher Heroes of Liberty, Fox Business reported.
Heroes of Liberty, which released its first book in November, has published biographies of President Ronald Reagan, economist Thomas Sowell, and Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett intended for children ages 7–12.
Editor Bethany Mandel announced on Twitter Monday that Facebook had permanently disabled the publisher's ads account after House of Liberty unsuccessfully appealed the original decision, which was handed down Dec. 23.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
According to a screenshot of a Facebook message Mandel provided to Fox Business, the account was disabled due to violations of Facebook's policy on "Low Quality or Disruptive Content."
This policy stipulates that ads "must not contain content leading to external landing pages that provide an unexpected or disruptive experience." This includes ads with "overly sensationalized headlines" or that lead "to landing pages that contain minimal original content and a majority of unrelated or low-quality ad content."
Mandel posted a screenshot of a Heroes of Liberty Facebook ad that did not appear to be misleading or overly sensational. The Heroes of Liberty website homepage contains no ad content.
"We had a number of negative comments on the posts and we think they reported our content. They were triggered by a children's book that portrays Ronald Reagan as a hero," Mandel tweeted. She also posted screenshots of Facebook comments criticizing Reagan and saying the biographies ought to be burned.
She also said that Heroes of Liberty had invested the majority of its advertising budget in Facebook and had lost large amounts of valuable user data.
The publisher still plans to release biographies of John Wayne, Alexander Hamilton, and Margaret Thatcher in the coming months.
Despite the choice of subjects, Mandel claims the purpose of these biographies is to teach "American values," not conservative politics.
Most contemporary children's literature is "garbage and indoctrination," Mandel told Fox Business in November, singling out Ibram X. Kendi's Antiracist Baby. After Facebook disabled the publisher's ad account, she said Facebook's motivation "isn't even anti-conservative bias, it's anti-American. Pure madness."
In addition to her role at Heroes of Liberty, Mandel is an editor at conservative online community Ricochet. She is married to Seth Mandel, who is executive editor of the right-leaning Washington Examiner magazine.
[Ed. note: This author has previously written for The Washington Examiner]
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
5 biting editorial cartoons about 'Alligator Alcatraz'
Cartoons Artists take on dangerous green things, historical precedent, and more
-
A journey into the deep past on beautiful Arran
The Week Recommends New Unesco Global Geopark played a 'key role' in the birth of modern geological science
-
China's London super-embassy
The Explainer The People's Republic wants to build a massive new embassy in central London, and a lot of people aren't happy about it
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami