After backlash, Facebook pulls Trump's controversial immigrant ad for violating its advertising policy on 'sensational content'

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

• After Fox News and NBC pulled a controversial advertisement from President Trump that was widely condemned as racist, Facebook has decided to block the ad from paid distribution.
• The ad can still be posted on the social network, but not through Facebook's political ads platform.
• The ad claims the migrant caravan headed toward the United States consists of "dangerous illegal criminals."

After Fox News and NBC pulled a controversial advertisement from President Trump that was widely condemned as racist, Facebook has decided to block the ad from paid distribution.

The ad, which claims the migrant caravan headed toward the United States consists of "dangerous illegal criminals," can still be posted on Facebook, but not through the social network's paid advertisement distribution system, Bloomberg reports.

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Fox News pulled the ad on Sunday, and NBC and Facebook quickly followed suit on Monday.

"This ad violates Facebook's advertising policy against sensational content, so we are rejecting it," a Facebook spokesperson said to Bloomberg in a statement. "While the video is allowed to be posted on Facebook, it cannot receive paid distribution."

Facebook defines sensational content as "images that may shock or scare viewers, images that are scary, gory or sensational," and "Ads depicting violence or threats of violence."