I heard from two writers Saturday who told me that Google had banned their book ads because they contained the keyword “jihadwatch.” Note that both writers say that their ads had not been active for years.

I’ve written a great deal lately about how the Left is using Charlottesville as its Reichstag Fire moment to crush all dissent, and this is yet another manifestation of that effort. They’re doing everything they can to deny all access to the means of communication to those whose opinions they hate. It’s a frankly authoritarian agenda.

On Saturday morning, I received this email from Mark Durie, the author of The Third Choice and many other excellent books about Islam, Sharia, and jihad. Durie subsequently wrote me: “It seems that even googling ‘jihadwatch’ is deemed an act of hatred.”

Dear Robert – I had an old add for a book censored by Google.

I set up this add 7 years ago: it hasn’t been active for years. They banned the keyword ‘jihadwatch’ on the grounds that this keyword is ‘disapproved’.

A Google ad ‘keyword’ means that if someone searches for ‘jihadwatch’ the add might pop up. Mark Begin forwarded message: From: Google AdWords <adwords-noreply@google.com>

Subject: Your AdWords Account: Ad Disapproved

Date: 16 September 2017 at 1:28:01 pm AEST

To: markdurie@gmail.com

Reply-To: Google AdWords <adwords-noreply@google.com> AdWords account number: 744-913-3425 Hello AdWords Advertiser, We wanted to alert you that one or more of your ads or keywords have been disapproved. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to show your ads on Google, our search partners, or on Display Network placements until you edit your ads or keywords to make them compliant with our policies. If this is an error, we want to get your ads back up and running as quickly as possible, and your Google team is here to help. Below you’ll find the reason why your ads or keywords have been disapproved. At the end of this email, you’ll find a Problem Report that includes details about which ads or keywords have been disapproved and what you can do to fix them (if possible). ====================

Disapproval Reason

====================

“Anti” and Violence: Google doesn’t allow the promotion of hate, violence, or negative claims towards any individual or group. See our policy at https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/175902

——————– Repeated violations of our Advertising Policies may result in a suspension of your AdWords account, so it’s important to address any issues as soon as possible by reviewing our policies. You can review our Advertising Policies at: http://support.google.com/adwordspolicy?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cm&utm_campaign=awpv. This message was sent from a notification-only email address that doesn’t accept incoming email. If you have questions about our policies, please contact us through the AdWords Help Center at http://support.google.com/adwords/bin/request.py?contact_type=approvals&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cm&utm_campaign=awpv. Sincerely,

The Google AdWords Team ====================

Problem Report

====================

AdWords account number: 744-913-3425 ———————————————-

Campaign: ‘Campaign #1,’ Ad Group: ‘Ad Group #1’

———————————————- Keyword(s): jihadwatch Keyword Status: Disapproved

Keyword Issue(s): “Anti” and Violence

~~~~~~~~~ SUGGESTIONS:

-> Fix your ad and website to remove all references to content that violates this policy. —————————————–

Unsubscribe from policy-related emails for the account associated with markdurie@gmail.com at http://adwords.google.com/um/EmailOptOutLink?token=AOGacIoU7mza7qQKV3KHvpLx1yAcfmGLSHi-q5Vdutga6x0cCiPRqWTDhGX7xL3qOWlBRhF1ZRIR7wyIf5c-KYNj_Jk6T_nfTX-tc2lWAZ-P4jzNOf9Xb3A (this link expires in 30 days). Google Ireland Ltd.

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Dublin 4, Ireland Registered in Dublin, Ireland | Registration Number: 368047

Just hours later I received this email from writer Stephen Clements, author of To Save a Life, a novel about the sack of Constantinople by mutinous Crusaders in 1204.