Actor Dennis Quaid has accused Facebook of censoring promotional content for the upcoming movie Reagan, claiming the social media giant has refused to allow ads with inspirational quotes from Ronald Reagan.
He also claimed Facebook suspended the movie’s official page for posting clips of Quaid speaking to Fox News, Jordan Peterson’s podcast, and other outlets, though the page is currently active.
“Facebook is once again censoring the free flow of ideas, deciding what’s best for us to see and hear; only this time it’s throttling advertising and promotion for my movie about Ronald Reagan,” the actor said via an email sent exclusively to Newsweek.
“Like the old Soviet Union—are we turning into a country of tech oligarchs who control the platform of groupthink to silence the individual or ‘other’ groups?”
The actor hinted that Facebook may be trying to censor Reagan due to pressure to silence conservative voices during an election year,
Facebook told Newsweek the restrictions may have been a mistake.
Reagan, which is set to open in cinemas August 30, stars Quaid as the 40th president. The movie follows Reagan’s life from his upbringing in Illinois to his Hollywood career and eventually to his entrance into politics.
File/President Ronald Reagan (C) salutes beside his wife Nancy Reagan after being sworn in as 40th President of the United States by Chief Justice Warren Burger during inaugural ceremony, on January 20, 1981 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. At right is vice-president George W. Bush. (AFP via Getty)
The cast also includes Jon Voight, Penelope Ann Miller, and Mena Suvari.
Newsweek reported that video clips of Quaid discussing the movie on TV and podcasts that were posted to the Reagan movie’s Facebook page caused the social media platform to temporarily suspend the account on at least two occasions.
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