How Facebook’s New Ad Policies Affect Jewish Camps
By Stephanie Gonzalez, Social Summer Camp
In light of the recent scandals and controversies surrounding Facebook advertising, the social media company has recently rolled out numerous changes to their ad platform and ad policies. One of the more significant changes affecting Jewish camps involves use of the word “Jewish” in ads.
Per Facebook’s Ad Policies on Prohibited Content, the rules on including personal attributes states: Ads must not contain content that asserts or implies personal attributes. This includes direct or indirect assertions or implications about a person’s race, ethnic origin, religion, beliefs…”
How does this rule impact your ads for Jewish camp? The most important thing to note is that the rules allow you to use “Jewish” only as a descriptor for your program and not as a description of your target audience. For example, you are allowed to say “Check out our Jewish sleepaway camp,” or “Our programs are built on Jewish values,” but you shouldn’t say “Attention, Jewish moms!” or “Our camp is the best place for Jewish kids to spend their summer!”
Another potential complication is that Facebook’s ad-reviewing algorithm – implemented earlier this year in response to the surge of targeted harassment and hate speech online – is flagging the word “Jewish” more frequently than ever before. Even if your ad follows Facebook’s policies, you might find that including “Jewish” in your ad text will result in your ad being disapproved.
If you find that you’ve been struggling with disapproved ads lately, don’t panic. Always double-check that your ad follows the policy above and then submit an appeal. Submitting an appeal puts your ad through to Facebook’s Ad Team, who can usually review and approve your ad within a few hours.
More changes are sure to come as Facebook continues to battle the questionable ads on its platform. Just remember to have patience and double-check Facebook’s ad policies before launching your next big recruitment campaign!
Happy Facebook-ing!