Facebook says it mistakenly removed lawmaker’s post with transgender flag

Facebook apologized Thursday to Rep. Marie Newman after the Illinois Democrat said a video of her putting a transgender pride flag outside her congressional office had been removed and labeled as “hate speech.”

Newman, a first-term lawmaker, tweeted about the removal of her Facebook post, drawing a response and apology from Andy Stone, a Facebook spokesperson.

“Congresswoman, this plainly should not have happened. We’ve restored this content and you have our sincere apologies,” Stone tweeted.

Congresswoman, this plainly should not have happened. We’ve restored this content and you have our sincere apologies.

— Andy Stone (@andymstone) February 25, 2021

Newman tweeted that the post was restored more than three hours after first reaching out to Facebook for an explanation. 

“Facebook said it was ‘removed in error’ and that they are still reviewing the case,” she tweeted.

More than three hours after we first reached out to Facebook asking for an explanation on why they took down our video, they have now reposted it on our page.

Facebook said it was “removed in error” and that they are still reviewing the case. https://t.co/OpSSwh1Elp

— Congresswoman Marie Newman (@RepMarieNewman) February 25, 2021

Facebook declined to comment further on the situation beyond Stone’s tweets.

The post showing Newman putting up the flag came on the same day the House voted on sweeping legislation extending civil rights protections to LGBTQ people.

Newman’s office is across the hall from conservative Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who tried to block the legislation, known as the Equality Act, calling it “a direct attack on God’s creation.”

Facebook is among the numerous companies that support the Equality Act.

In response to Newman’s flag, Greene posted a video of her putting up a sign stating “there are TWO genders.”

The House voted earlier this month to strip Greene of her committee assignments based on her history of promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory and endorsing calls for violence against Democrats.