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Twitter reverses course, will allow Marsha Blackburn video to be used in advertisements

Blackburn Senate campaign spokeswoman Andrea Bozek said Tuesday Twitter's initial decision to suspend ads with the video was "a real shame."

A day after Rep. Marsha Blackburn pounced on a Twitter decision to suspend advertisements on the social media platform because her Senate campaign launch video referenced the "sale of baby body parts," Twitter has reversed course.

"Our ads policies strive to balance protecting our users from potentially distressing content while allowing our advertisers to communicate their messages. Nowhere is this more difficult than in the realm of political advertising and the highly charged issues that are often addressed therein," said Twitter spokesman Nicholas Pacilio in a statement.

"After further review, we have made the decision to allow the content in question from Rep. Blackburn's campaign ad to be promoted on our ads platform. While we initially determined that a small portion of the video used potentially inflammatory language, after reconsidering the ad in the context of the entire message, we believe that there is room to refine our policies around these issues. We have notified Rep. Blackburn's campaign of this decision."

PREVIOUS: Twitter shuts down Blackburn campaign announcement video

Blackburn Senate campaign spokeswoman Andrea Bozek said Tuesday Twitter's initial decision to suspend ads with the video was "a real shame."

"While Marsha is disappointed that they attempted to censor her pro-life record, we are pleased they have reconsidered their decision. This is just the latest example of Marsha’s leadership," Bozek said.

Initially a representative from Twitter told the Blackburn campaign the line about body parts "had been deemed an inflammatory statement that is likely to evoke a strong negative reaction."

Although Twitter blocked the video as an online ad, the video could still be shared on the platform.

Blackburn's campaign blasted Twitter on Monday, prompting a surge of tweets from supports.

"This is urgent," Blackburn begins in a fundraising email blasted out Monday night to supporters. "I’m being censored for telling the truth."

The factual basis of Blackburn's statement in the video is contested.

The sale of fetal tissue for profit has been illegal since 1993, but a Blackburn panel launched an investigation into Planned Parenthood after undercover videos surfaced and alleged such sales.

Planned Parenthood denied the charges and it was never proven they violated the law.

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