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By Tony Connelly, Sports Marketing Reporter

September 30, 2015 | 3 min read

Facebook has reversed its decision to ban an ad from a sight loss charity after initially claiming it was “degrading”.

The poignant ad from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) aims to promote the need for sight loss advisers in UK hospitals by making viewers think about the struggles that come with sight loss and the lack of support around the issue.

Having launched on the RNIB’s YouTube channel on 14 September the charity then tried to promote it on Facebook however the social network’s advertising division banned the ad for breaking its guidelines on use of language that is “profane, vulgar, threatening or generates high negative feedback”.

The initial decision prompted backlash online including from the narrator of the ad itself Melissa Berry, who hit out that it was “in no way degrading” and said she was “stunned that FB have deemed it too hard hitting”.

At the time Natasha Dickinson, group head of marketing and communications at the RNIB, said it had not received a single complaint about the ad and was “shocked” at Facebook’s decision. She cited concern that it was missing out on the opportunity to spread its message to thousands of people and expressed hope that Facebook would begin “working with, and not against, charities”.

In trying to clarify the matter the RNIB reached out to Facebook and received an email response saying that Facebook had “found that people dislike ads that directly address them or their personal characteristics”. It went on to say: “we don’t accept language like ‘fear of losing your sight, losing your job?’ and the like. Instead, text must present realistic and accurate information in a neutral or positive way and should not have any direct attribution to people.”

Facebook has since contacted the charity to inform them that it was reversing its decision following a review which had shown that the “language used in the copy and video are compliant”.

“As the previous correspondence mentioned, we do not allow ads to directly assert the physical condition of the audience,” said a member of the Facebook team in an email to RNIB. “This ensures that ads promote a safe community and we maintain the trust of the audience on Facebook. However, in this case, the intent is not to assert that the viewer is struggling with blindness, thus the language used in the copy and video are compliant. The ad has been re-approved, and you are able to set them back to active.”

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