THE WRONG FACTS

Facebook Removes Doctors’ Fact-Check of Anti-Abortion Video After Appeal From Republican Senators

Four Republican senators argued the physicians’ fact-checking was unfair to conservatives before the information was pulled.

Facebook has reportedly removed a fact-check made by doctors that debunked an anti-abortion activist’s false claim that abortion is never necessary to save women’s lives. The removal of the fact-check came after four Republican senators—Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Kevin Cramer, and Mike Braun—sent a letter to Facebook accusing it of anti-conservative bias. The independent fact-check rated videos by Live Action and its founder, Lila Rose, as misleading. Rose said abortion is never medically necessary, but the fact-check pointed out several medical conditions can make abortion necessary to save a mother’s life. A link to the fact-check appeared next to the videos on Facebook, notifying viewers that the information was misleading. But Live Action and the Republican senators argued the fact-check was unfair because two of the three doctors involved are allegedly linked to pro-choice organizations. Facebook confirmed to BuzzFeed News that it had removed the fact-check from the video while an investigation determines whether the doctors involved followed “procedures designed to ensure impartiality.”