If you haven’t been following the story of social media giant Facebook suspending popular gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson’s page on its platform, suffice it to say that things continue to get weirder.

According to Smith & Wesson, their Facebook page, with some 1.6 million followers, was abruptly on November 22. The suspension was allegedly due to the company violating the platform’s ever-evolving, hard-to-navigate firearms policy—a policy that has pushed many gun-related companies to other social media platforms over the past few years.

“Despite our extensive efforts and resources spent on trying to adhere to Facebook’s ever-changing community guidelines on firearms, our account was suspended indefinitely on Friday, November 22nd, 15 years after its original creation,” S&W posted November 27 on X, formerly Twitter.

In the post, the manufacturer also encouraged its followers to move away from Facebook and embrace X, which has polices that are far more gun-friendly.

“In an era where free speech and the right to bear arms are under constant attack, we want to thank @elonmusk and @X  for supporting free speech and our constitutional rights guaranteed by the 1st and 2nd Amendments,” the post continued. “While we work to reinstate our account, we encourage our 1.6 million Facebook followers and fans to seek out platforms that represent these shared values.”

The Twitter post proved S&W’s point about X, as it drew more than 3.1 million views and even a response from Musk himself, saying, “We restored the gun emoji and believe in the Constitution.”

As if by magic, on the same day as the X post, Smith & Wesson’s Facebook account was reinstated. However, a S&W  representative told Fox News that the company still can’t get an answer to why it was suspended in the first place.

“Despite multiple attempts to reach Facebook to discuss the matter, to date we have not had direct communications with any of their staff members,” the S&W representative said. “No rationale was given for the reinstatement beyond a comment on social media from a Facebook representative stating that the suspension had been ‘in error.’”

The representative told Fox News that in the suspension notice, Facebook referenced five posts dating back to December 2023 that they “suggest did not follow their community guidelines.”

“The posts in question included consumer promotional campaigns, charitable auctions. and product release announcements,” the representative explained. “While Facebook’s policies are ever-changing, which creates a burden for users to comply with, we do not believe this content violated any of Facebook’s policies or community guidelines, and similar posts have been published in the past without issue.”

In the end, Smith & Wesson will likely never know why their page was targeted and suspended, since Facebook doesn’t have to reveal such information. But the suspension reinforced the importance of other, more gun-friendly social media platforms.

“While we were encouraged by the reinstatement of our account, we were similarly disappointed by the number of other users reacting to our statement on X that commented that they have had very similar experiences with their accounts being de-platformed without warning,” the representative said. “While we obviously do not know the details of those instances, we encourage Meta to continue working towards a more inclusive platform which allows the freedom for respectful dialogue from all viewpoints, which is a hallmark of American society.”

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26 COMMENTS

  2. If it weren’t for the marketplace and nosey boomers using local groups pages for neighborhood gossip Facebook would shut down.

    Smith and every other company would be better served ignoring Facebook. Let it become the MeTV of social media and get buried in ads for life insurance, incontinence products and medications.

  3. utube is just as pathetic as facebook and the rest of the busy bodies who deserve a swift kick in the pants.

  4. Three-Four months ago Trump said if he wins the election he will put Mark Zukerberg behind bars. Can’t say as I blame him.

    Zuckergberg testified before congress that Facebook did indeed censor the speech of millions of Americans for the 2020 election and for covid while acting, in effect, as an ‘agent of government’. Zuckergberg claimed in testimony, basically, it happened because of threats from democrats and Biden-Harris – so he was acting under duress of threats. But we know today as a result of the house hearings there was wilful and knowledgeable actions also on the part of facebook left wingers, with Zuckerbergs knowledge, to act as ‘government agents’ to intentionally violate the 1st Amendment rights of millions of Americans, including Trump and other republicans and Trump supporters (Trumps Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended following the January 6 Capitol riot) because democrats and Biden-Harris wanted it done.

    Zuck is currently begging Trump for forgiveness. He had dinner with Trump at Mar-A-Lago, and is ‘trying’ to mend fences. And its been reported that Zuckerberg has “made clear that he wants to support the national renewal of America under Trump’s leadership,” and he sees the president-elect as an “agent of change and…prosperity.” and is seeking to change his company’s perception on the right. Now Zuck is looking to play a role in the Trump administration.

    Somehow though, I tend to think if Harris had won the election that Zuck would be singing a different tune of “Lefty Besties Forever”.

  5. I’m torn between the debate of them being a publisher and not a carrier vs do I want the government to have their hand in that pie?

    I really think someone needs to have their corporation hurt to make the point that they need to be more afraid of getting sued over section 230 violations than the feds themselves. Naturally easier said than done.

    • We get to check their algorithms. Fine them (all major tech) for contributing (secret donations) to Democrats through censorship, shadow banning, skewed results, etc. How many billion$?

      • “We get to check their algorithms.”

        Ahhh the mysterious ‘algorithms’. The ones with the left winger anti-gun person clicking a mouse button on the ‘censor’ or ‘de-platform’ link.

  7. No 40cal. They shouldn’t abolish it they should make me the director of alchohol tobacco firearms and explosives.
    Hello 4th of July looks like we’ve got us one hell of a party.
    Yeeee Yeeee

  10. Coincidentally, I bought S&W today. It was on sale, 20% off. Guess they missed on earnings expectations and lowered guidance, but the market (almost) always overreacts.

    • former, tracked by who and why would I care? Minor and his minions? The CIA, NSA, some other alphabet agency? So what. I don’t violate any U.S. code or FL statutes. What would they do to me anyway? I’ve done and seen plenty of interesting things. My children are grown and successful. Though I wouldn’t mind meeting a grandchild. I’ve seriously thought I was about to die a couple of times. That idea hasn’t disturbed me for a long time, except to worry about those I leave behind. But, I have no debt for them to address and sufficient resources for them to pay someone to pat me in the face with a shovel. In fact, my burial plot is paid for. It’s about a 15 minute walk from my front door. Next to Dad. Mom will be on his other side and my sister next to her. Let them track me. I ain’t scared.

  11. Gadsden.
    Whenever any of our family die we always draw and quarter them sending the body parts to the four corners of the earth.
    Burial in outer space would be nice,hopefully those evil bastards will vaporize upon re-entry.

  13. “meta” is absolute trash. Don’t patronize it. If you see “sponsored” posts by pro gun pages, tell them that since they gave cash to zuckerfascist, they won’t be getting your business. I got my account totally suspended for sharing this post: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1908988719627093&set=gm.3564368723856381&idorvanity=2431014163858515

    …that you can see is STILL UP. Idiot-book said I was encouraging drug use 🙄 and despite reinstating my account AFTER I appealed, they continued to punish me by leaving “strikes” against my account AND banning me from posting in groups. Again, don’t patronize “meta.”

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