My Facebook Ads Were Rejected: Confirming All We’ve Been Talking About

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. - John 14:27

Dear Beloveds,

I have been hustling to get everything ready and fantastic for our upcoming online gathering on Monday, July 12, 2021 (Sign up HERE!). It takes a lot of preparation to spread the word so we can truly find The Others - grow this community with the perfect people to welcome into our merry Mary mix of truth seekers and stumbling saints.

One way to do so is by advertising: that word that makes most of us wince. But my coaches have encouraged me to see the excitement and beauty of marketing because if we truly believe in what we are doing, if we stand firmly behind our work and it’s coming from a place of love and service for those whom we are trying to reach, then it should be a pleasure to spread our messages.

This is especially true if we are involved in ministry and apologetics, since the Good News should indeed be the most delightful thing we could spread. I feel the same way about topics like truth and critical thinking, since, as we’ve discussed many times, this world is the dominion of the father of lies. Though the gospel message is at its core quite simple, philosophies of men, the obsession with being rational (and the indulgences of being irrational) can be a stumbling block that we can at least put some of that bright electrical tape on to avoid some of the tripping.

Here's the ad that was both accepted and rejected by Facebook.

I firmly stand behind The Other Mary project; I’m investing as much time and finances as I can manage. Thus I decided to try running Facebook ads. This is my first time legitimately advertising anything I’ve done, and it took a couple (hundred) deep breaths and pep-talks to get over that fear of being seen, mostly by peers, and naturally judged.

Imposter syndrome creeps up: “Who am I to say and do this…I’m not an expert…everyone will see me for the fraud I am.” To which one has to say “Get behind me, Satan!” This is a lie, but not because we’re actually falsely humble geniuses simply engaging in negative self-talk. In fact, it is a truth that we are frauds if we are relying purely on ourselves and our own intellect and creativity. This isn’t about Liz or whomever else. It’s about trusting what God is working on through us.

I get nervous putting my face and my voice out there - not just because I will be judged by the world, but because I am trying to represent Christ, and I want to do a good job at it! I am worried I might say something inaccurate or misleading, or just stammer like a fool. This week I was praying about the show and about how these worries, and I “accidentally” flipped open to this passage:

When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. - Matthew 10:19-20

It is only God who grants us our gifts, who calls us and equips us - who gives us our very breath! So the lie is for us to place all the responsibility upon ourselves to pull all this off in the first place. Yes we do our due diligence: we don’t bury our talents in the ground safely until the Master returns. We go out and use what he’s given us because we are His hands and feet. God could do everything Himself at any moment if He wanted to, but He chose us to be a part of His plan.

So I created some Facebook ads. Let me tell you, it’s an ordeal. Not an impossible one, but there is a learning curve. (Shout out to Eric and my coach Lucas for helping me!) Not only did we have to script, film, and edit the ads, but then there’s a whole bunch of data entry and registration required, and then there’s making sure the headings and copy are catchy and interesting enough to get some clicks. It requires a lot of creativity and left brain activity. And thank God I had set up a DBA last year, since you have to have a verifiable business and bank account before proceeding. Then you press PUBLISH and…YAY you did it!!! 🙌 Right?…

You actually have to be reviewed and approved. And guess what. I was not. I tried not to think of all the work that went into creating them. I ran four ads (for the recommended business strategy of A/B testing) with only slight variables, and all the same image/video and text. Two were rejected. At first the reason they gave was a bit ambiguous: the ads did not meet the requirements of their guidelines. Well what about them? So we requested a dispute, and they were rejected again, this time for being political.

I can assure you there is nothing political about my ads. However I suppose there are words (like “conservative”, though I was referring to Christianity, not the Republican Party…) that may have triggered a bot, or an overly sensitive reviewer who deemed my content too radical for today’s fragile society. Yes it is odd that the same copy didn’t trigger that response in the ads that were accepted. Here’s the copy for the ad:

When I searched for reasons ads have been rejected by Facebook, alarmingly I came across these:

So…you are not allowed to affiliate yourself with any attribute about yourself? What are we supposed to be - NPC’s? This is ironic considering we live in such an identitarian culture at the moment. I suspect it is because they don’t want your business to come across as exclusionary - again, because we’re all so fragile we can’t handle self-selecting away from that advertisement offering something not to our liking; Facebook must shield us from being exposed.

An army of NPC's ("Non-playable Characters" - a gaming term for built-in characters.)

Py and I had a hearty belly laugh over the rule that you can’t use the word “other” to refer to someone, as the very name of my artist identity itself is The Other Mary. While I am not sure these are the exact reasons my ad was cancelled, I have to conclude this whole debacle only reinforces the importance of a community like The Other Mary and affirms what I’m focusing on:

• Free Speech is natural (God-given) and vital, and it IS being whittled away.

• Christians (and in this case apparently any identity group) are discouraged from sharing their beliefs in public.

• We are being encouraged to tip-toe on social eggshells and dumb down - or at least water down - content. We are discouraged from thinking for ourselves and have to be protected from potential “microaggressions”.

• Political discourse has become too hot to handle, to the point where we are being banned from stating (certain - and you know which) opinions.

• Tech giants and social media platforms are the arbiters of what may or may not be presented and stated publicly.

• There are taboo words and topics (and not the ones that you’d expect!)

• Truth and the Gospel are RADICAL. It may increasingly be harder to share. Truth is arbitrary and subjective to whomever the reviewer happens to be.

• The world is upside down and hypocritical. Facebook is currently facing a lawsuit about sex traffickers finding their victims on their platform. Sure these criminals might not have run an ad…but in comparison to what I imagine their posts to be like, I have a hard time seeing my ad as deserving more scrutiny.

This is precisely why I am writing the blog about these issues, and hosting content on my private website. Some content creators are even being kicked off web hosting platforms, but I pray God will protect our community as long as He wills it to continue.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33

I encourage everyone who is reading this (thank you so very much!) to understand the importance of supporting the gospel being shared and the freedom to speak.

The most rewarding way to grow a community organically; word of mouth is still THE best form of advertisement, and now is even more vital in this world of censorship. Please share, like, and comment The Other Mary videos and blogs as well as all your favorite content creators fighting the good fight! Let’s create a safe, open space for worship, dialog, learning, and JOY.

And see you at the livestream! (Monday, July 12 2021 6pm pst).

Through the Love of Christ,

Liz