Lawmakers are calling on Meta to stop running an ad campaign featuring the neo-Nazi anthem "We'll Have Our Home Again," which was used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to recruit new agents.
Representatives Becca Balint and Pramila Jayapal sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging him to cease running the ads on his social media platforms and asking whether the company would commit to ending its digital advertising partnership with DHS.
The lawmakers cited The Intercept's reporting as evidence that the ad campaign featured imagery and music intended to appeal to white nationalists and neo-Nazis. They also questioned how Meta approved the ad campaign in the first place, given its content.
In response, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson rejected comparisons between the ads and extremist propaganda, arguing that criticism of the campaign amounted to an attack on patriotic expression. However, the lawmakers pointed out that Meta's community standards prohibit content that promotes dehumanizing speech or calls for exclusion or segregation targeting people based on protected characteristics.
The recruitment campaign, which was launched by DHS in March 2022, spent over $2.8 million on ads across Facebook and Instagram between then and December of last year, with an additional $500,000 paid to Meta starting in August. The lawmakers accused the agency of using taxpayer funding to recruit new agents through digital advertising.
The controversy has also raised concerns about the impact of social media companies like Meta on public safety, particularly in terms of recruitment efforts by extremist groups. Lawmakers have called for greater transparency and oversight from these companies to prevent similar situations in the future.
Meta did not respond to a request for comment on the matter, but the lawmakers' letter asks the company to disclose the scope and duration of its advertising agreement with DHS, provide any communications related to the recruitment ads, and explain what restrictions apply to paid government content under its policies.
Representatives Becca Balint and Pramila Jayapal sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging him to cease running the ads on his social media platforms and asking whether the company would commit to ending its digital advertising partnership with DHS.
The lawmakers cited The Intercept's reporting as evidence that the ad campaign featured imagery and music intended to appeal to white nationalists and neo-Nazis. They also questioned how Meta approved the ad campaign in the first place, given its content.
In response, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson rejected comparisons between the ads and extremist propaganda, arguing that criticism of the campaign amounted to an attack on patriotic expression. However, the lawmakers pointed out that Meta's community standards prohibit content that promotes dehumanizing speech or calls for exclusion or segregation targeting people based on protected characteristics.
The recruitment campaign, which was launched by DHS in March 2022, spent over $2.8 million on ads across Facebook and Instagram between then and December of last year, with an additional $500,000 paid to Meta starting in August. The lawmakers accused the agency of using taxpayer funding to recruit new agents through digital advertising.
The controversy has also raised concerns about the impact of social media companies like Meta on public safety, particularly in terms of recruitment efforts by extremist groups. Lawmakers have called for greater transparency and oversight from these companies to prevent similar situations in the future.
Meta did not respond to a request for comment on the matter, but the lawmakers' letter asks the company to disclose the scope and duration of its advertising agreement with DHS, provide any communications related to the recruitment ads, and explain what restrictions apply to paid government content under its policies.
. Like, I get that some people might think it's just a harmless ad campaign, but come on, there's this one song called "We'll Have Our Home Again" that's basically a neo-Nazi anthem and they're running ads featuring it on social media? That's not cool at all 
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. And yeah, I know some people might say that the government is trying to silence patriotic expression or whatever, but let's be real, this is just a bunch of nonsense.
. It's like they're playing with fire and expecting everyone else to stay out of the way. We need some serious accountability here 
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Meta gotta stop running these ads ASAP! Theyre usin taxpayer $$$ 2 recruit new ICE agents & thats super problematic 
The lawmakers r right 2 call 'em out on dis, esp since Meta's policies dont allow dehumanizing speech or calls 4 exclusion 2 people based on protected characteristics 
. Lawmakers should 4sure get more transparancy & oversight from these big social media companies 2 prevent similar situations in the future 
. Its not like Meta didnt see dis comin, they just got caught slippin' 
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. i understand that these lawmakers are trying to hold companies accountable, but shouldn't there be some kind of oversight before ads get approved in the first place? it's not like this is a new issue, and we should have seen something like this coming... or at least, someone should have spoken up sooner 
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i mean i know they say it's for patriotic expression but come on, that's just a bunch of BS. my girl pramila jayapal is totally right to call them out on this. and btw have you seen the amount of money they spent on ads like $2.8 mil?? that's wild 
i'm low-key wondering if they're even doing a good job recruiting people for ICE or if it's just a bunch of ppl who are gullible 
anyway, i think we should be super upset about this and want some major transparency from meta about what's going on behind the scenes 
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Meta needs to take responsibility for their role in spreading hate and extremism online. As a parent, it's heartbreaking to think that kids might be exposed to this kind of content on your site. The fact that the recruitment campaign was so expensive (over $3 million!) just adds to my outrage - where is all that money coming from? 
. The lawmakers are tryin' to hold Meta accountable, but it feels like they're bein' super harsh on 'em. I'm not sayin' that the ad campaign is cool or whatever 
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and we're being too sensitive? No way, Jose! 
how did they even get away with it? the fact that DHS spent over $2.8 million on these ads is just insane 
And what about Meta's community standards? If they can't even enforce those, how are we supposed to trust them with our personal data? 
. We need more transparency and oversight from social media companies like Meta so this stuff doesn't happen again 
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. It's time to hold them accountable and make sure our public safety isn't compromised by their reckless ad decisions 
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Also, $2.8 million is a pretty penny for an ad campaign that's got people concerned about white nationalism and neo-Nazism... That just feels too convenient. 
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. We need more transparency and oversight, especially when it comes to recruitment efforts by extremist groups