Yesterday, Popular Information published a detailed report on the close relationship between former President Donald Trump and Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who says America should be a "white Judeo-Christian ethnostate." Shortly after the piece was published, we heard from readers who said they were unable to post our story about Loomer on Facebook. So we tried it ourselves. Facebook blocked the post, saying that Popular Information's reporting violated Facebook's "Community Standards." 

The message from Facebook claims Popular Information "tried to get likes, follows, shares, or video views in a misleading way." There was a button to request a review of the decision, but clicking the button generated an error.

We contacted a spokesperson for Meta (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads) to ask why our piece was being censored. According to a Meta spokesperson, Popular Information’s story was initially blocked for violating spam policies but was being restored.

Did Loomer evade her Facebook ban?

Loomer's page was removed from Facebook and Instagram in May 2019. At the time, Facebook said that Loomer — along with Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos, and other extremists — was banned from the service for violating its "policies against dangerous individuals and organizations." 

"We’ve always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology," the company said. “The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today.” Facebook cited Loomer's association with extremist figures. She and others banned from Facebook and Instagram were also "prohibited from creating new accounts." (At various times, Loomer has also been banned from Uber, Lyft, Paypal, Venmo, GoFundMe, and other services.) 

In response, Loomer sued Facebook for $3 billion. A lawyer representing Loomer said the company made "malicious, false and defamatory statements" against Loomer. In a statement, the lawyer said that Facebook's decision "subjected her to hatred, distrust, ridicule, contempt and disgrace, and the threat of severe bodily injury or death by those who are now led to believe that she is dangerous and a domestic terrorist against Muslims in particular. Muslims and other extremists thus are now prone to retaliate against her and her life is in mortal danger." That case, along with several other lawsuits Loomer filed against Facebook, was dismissed.

But, since May 2024, Loomer — or someone impersonating her — has operated a new page on Facebook. On Wednesday, the page featured an attack on Popular Information's reporting. 

An account purporting to be from Loomer was also active on Instagram.

Popular Information contacted Meta about Loomer's apparent return to Facebook and Instagram. A few hours later, the Facebook and Instagram pages were removed. A Meta spokesperson said that Loomer — and pages and groups that represent Loomer — are still banned. (Discussion of Loomer and her ideology by other people are allowed.)

Facebook suppresses political content

Under Elon Musk's leadership, X is relentlessly promoting Trump's campaign, including a two-hour conversation between Musk and Trump on Monday night. Meta has taken a different approach. 

Across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, Meta has made a decision to suppress content that involves political issues in favor of "sports, music, fashion, beauty, [and] entertainment." That means Popular Information's reporting, along with most other political media outlets, is deprioritized and not widely distributed.

Adam Mosseri, the Meta executive who runs Instagram and Threads, explained that politics did not produce enough "incremental engagement or revenue" to be worth the trouble. In other words, "Let them eat cake." 

In February, Meta announced it would change the settings for all users on Instagram and Threads to opt-out of seeing political posts from anyone a user does not follow. (The company said a similar change was coming to Facebook soon.) Meta also has a broad and vague definition of "politics," a category it says includes any discussion of "social issues."

Popular content being displayed to non-followers is the main way for users to grow an account. It remains a viable source of growth for everyone except those who post about politics.

A study by Accountable Tech released earlier this week found that "progressive Instagram accounts saw their reach decline by 65%" since the policy change. The study looked at accounts for Hillary Clinton, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, and others. (The group also sought the participation of conservative accounts, but none agreed.) Accountable Tech said that its study shows that Meta has "systematically remove[d] trustworthy 'political' content from their recommendation surfaces."