Twitter has blocked Marsha Blackburn’s Senate campaign announcement ad due to a statement that Planned Parenthood sells fetal tissue for profit, The Associated Press reports.
The Republican representative is running for the Senate seat opened by the retirement of Bob Corker (TN). Blackburn, who launched her campaign last week, proudly states in the video: "I fought Planned Parenthood and we stopped the sale of baby body parts. Thank God."
Blackburn's reference to altered videos released by anti-abortion activists in 2015 was deemed by Twitter as "an inflammatory statement that is likely to evoke a strong negative reaction."
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The damaging Planned Parenthood myth has been debunked by the nonpartisan fact-checking site PolitiFact, the anti-abortion activists who made the videos were charged with 15 felonies, and a grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing. But Republicans including Lindsey Graham continue to use it as a talking point.
Twitter said the Blackburn campaign will be allowed to run the video if the flagged fetal tissue statement is removed. Although Blackburn can no longer pay to promote the campaign ad on Twitter, she is free to share the video on her own Twitter account, YouTube, and other platforms.
In a fundraising email on Monday, Blackburn criticized Twitter for its decision. "This is urgent. I’m being censored for telling the truth," she wrote. "Twitter has shut down my announcement video advertising. Silicon Valley elites are trying to impose their values on us. When I talked about our legislative accomplishments to stop the sale of baby body parts, they responded by calling our ad 'inflammatory and 'negative.'"
Blackburn's video, which plays directly to Trump's base, also includes footage of the candidate shooting a gun, touting her "100 percent pro-life" credentials, and criticizing Senate Republicans for failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
"I know the left calls me a wingnut or a knuckle-dragging conservative," she declared. "And you know what? I say that’s all right. Bring it on."