Facebook restored Tuesday a six-year-old page documenting Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s Cherokee ancestry claims and other controversies, calling its removal a mistake.
“This Page was mistakenly removed and has been restored,” said Facebook spokesperson Joe Osborne in an email.
The page, Elizabeth Warren Wiki, was shut down for violating rules against impersonation, a decision appealed by the manager, Cornell Law School professor William A. Jacobson.
He noted that the page states, “We are NOT affiliated with Elizabeth Warren’s Senate office or any of her campaigns.”
Facebook offered no explanation for the removal, but Mr. Jacobson speculated that Warren supporters may have complained after the page was cited by backers of Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 2020 Democratic presidential primary rival.
The page comes as a companion to the site ElizabethWarrenWiki.org, billed as “the most comprehensive source of information and documentation with regard to Elizabeth A. Warren.”
The Massachusetts Democrat has climbed steadily in the polls, overtaking Mr. Sanders and challenging the front-runner, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, in some surveys.
UPDATE: https://t.co/qdgiOxKXwy
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) October 2, 2019
Facebook shuts down professor’s page debunking Warren’s Native American ancestry claims - https://t.co/80uSVuyEK7
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) October 1, 2019
Both the Washington Times and Fox News reached out to Facebook for comment, which he said “likely was a big factor in the page being restored.”
“So the page is back,” said Mr. Jacobson on his Legal Insurrection site, “but the risk of shutdown by big tech remains.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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