However, attempts to post or share the reports were prevented by the site with a popup message stating the following: "Your message could not be sent because it includes content that other people on Facebook have reported as abusive."
Immigration critics and the CIS report author, Dr. Steven Camarota, were quick to accuse Facebook of censoring content. The accusations are based on Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg’s pro-immigration position, with critics accusing the website of forwarding his agenda by banning the content.
"An informed debate over immigration requires data and analysis about its effects," a CIS blog post said. "Only with information from a variety of sources can Americans try to understand our current policies, assess proposed changes, and judge candidates for political office."
"That is why it is so disturbing that Facebook, owned by immigration-expansionist Mark Zuckerberg, has banned four reports published by the Center for Immigration Studies pertaining to jobs and immigration."
This comes as the debate on immigration intensifies with the GOP presidential primary race. Donald Trump, who is championing immigration reform, has brought the issue to the forefront of national dialogue, frequently posing controversial statements about immigrants in the country.
A spokesman for Facebook, however, has maintained that ban was not politically motivated, and that it was simply an error that has been fixed by the social media giant.
"This was an error and they shouldn’t have any issues sharing the links now," he said. "An error in our system that helps block bad links on Facebook incorrectly marked some URLs as malicious or inappropriate. We’ve resolved the issue and apologize for the inconvenience caused."
