Actor Dennis Quaid and the marketers behind his upcoming movie about President Ronald Reagan are slamming Facebook for allegedly restricting their ability to promote the film, dubbed Reagan and set to open in theaters on August 30.
"Facebook is once again censoring the free flow of ideas, deciding what's best for us to see and hear; only this time it's throttling advertising and promotion for my movie about Ronald Reagan," the actor said via an email sent exclusively to Newsweek.
Quaid's remarks coincide with a letter addressed to Mark Zuckerberg, the chairman and CEO of Facebook parent, Meta Platforms, that outline "numerous problems" marketers say they have had when trying to post or "boost" content related to Reagan.
The letter from Eric McClellan, the director of digital marketing for the film, says that the most "egregious" example consists of a post that contains the title of the movie and an image of Quaid along with a quote from the 40th president.
"Don't let anyone tell you that America's best days are behind her—that the American spirit has been vanquished," reads the quote. "We've seen it triumph too often in our lives not to believe it now."
Facebook allowed the post—but refused to let the marketers "boost" it by way of a paid advertisement, according to the letter to Zuckerberg.
Also, video clips of Quaid discussing the movie on TV and podcasts that were posted to the Reagan movie's Facebook page caused the social media platform to temporarily suspend the account on at least two occasions, according to notices reviewed by Newsweek.
"Like the old Soviet Union—are we turning into a country of tech oligarchs who control the platform of groupthink to silence the individual or 'other' groups?" Quaid asks in his written statement.
The letter to Zuckerberg from McClellan says that when attempting to boost the post containing a quote from Reagan the marketer was told that he could not because it "mentions politicians or is about sensitive issues that could influence public opinion, how people vote and may impact the outcome of an election or pending legislation."
But Quaid notes that Facebook has been making decisions about what the Reagan marketers can and cannot post without having seen the movie, adding that "Zuckerberg is ultimately responsible for all of this because his company says it might influence the presidential election, but the last time Ronald Reagan's name was on the ballot was 40 years ago."
Facebook declined to comment on the record.
In the film, Quaid plays Reagan when he was president of the Screen Actors Guild, governor of California and U.S. president while Disney Channel star David Henrie plays him in his younger years when he was a lifeguard and radio broadcaster. The movie also stars Jon Voight, C. Thomas Howell, Mena Suvari, Penelope Ann Miller, Leslie-Anne Down and Dan Lauria.
"My challenge to Facebook is to ask if any of these tactics were used against other recent presidential biopics like Lincoln, LBJ, or Southside with You, a film about President Barack Obama, which was also released during an election year," Quaid said in his statement.
Newsweek put that question, too, to Facebook, though its representatives did not respond.
In May, the Reagan team posted a clip of Quaid being interviewed by Jordan Peterson, the psychologist and author who is considered controversial in some circles for his conservative views on cultural issues, though he refers to himself as a "classic British liberal."
When McClellan attempted to boost the clip, Facebook would not allow him to because it was "about social issues, elections or politics," says the letter.
After that event, Facebook then threatened that such posts "may result in your account being disabled or suspended," says the letter, which goes on to say that suspensions, in fact, did occur.
Quaid also addressed the Peterson podcast in his statement to Newsweek, saying that if a conversation between the two men "could influence an election, then by their own tortured logic, this shutting us up would also be deemed election interference."
The letter says that when an interview of Quaid that was conducted on August 3 by Valuetainment podcaster Patrick Bet-David was posted, the platform temporarily suspended the account associated with the movie.
McClellan said in the letter that the same thing happened when the marketers attempted to post an interview that the Fox News Channel conducted with Quaid on August 5.
Newsweek reviewed the letter and the examples, which include warnings that read, "You're temporarily restricted from posting statuses" due to unspecified violations of "Community Standards."
Contacted by Newsweek, McClellan had no comment on the letter dated August 12, except to say that it was genuine and that it had been sent to Zuckerberg by way of the Meta Platforms headquarters in Menlo Park, California.
Facebook might presumably be adhering to its policy of "prohibiting ads related to voting and ads about social issues, elections, or politics."
The policy restricts ads that discourage voting or call into question the results of an election, as well as premature claims of an electoral victory.
Figuring out why Facebook has issued suspensions to the team behind Reagan that do not involve a paid advertisement is trickier, thus the letter to Zuckerberg notes that, in regards to posting Quaid's appearances on Fox News and Valuetainment, "In both cases we were given no reason for the suspension."
Since 2016, Meta has been criticized for its handling of political postings and allowing its users to spread alleged "fake news," scrutiny that was heightened after the election of President Donald Trump in 2016 and again after the riot at the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
Facebook and Instagram suspended the accounts of Trump after the riot, then reactivated them in February 2023, but with "heightened penalties for repeat offenses." Meta removed that caveat in July just before the Republican National Convention, saying that "the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for president."
Quaid's lengthy statement issued to Newsweek also invokes capitalism and free speech.
"Freedom of expression and a free market are what Americans are known for," it reads. "Reagan said that the freedoms that we take for granted can be lost in a generation. Censorship like this, coupled with our silent assent is a cautionary indication that we could be in danger of losing those freedoms."
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