Christian creators should not have to fight a faceless system simply to warn churches about crime, but that is exactly what Christian Warrior Training is dealing with right now.
Do social media companies discriminate against Christian creators and Christian channels?
I will let you decide. I can only tell you what Christian Warrior Training is dealing with right now and show you the example Facebook gave me when I finally reached a real person.
This is not a complaint about one post failing to perform well. It is about a platform restricting our ability to reach people, refusing to explain the original violation, and then labeling a basic church security warning as politically divisive.
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How Facebook Helped Us Reach Thousands
Facebook and Instagram have never produced much direct income for Christian Warrior Training. Together, they might bring in a couple hundred dollars in a month. Their real value was distribution.
When Facebook shared our content with people who did not already follow us, those people could watch it, decide whether it was useful, and follow the page if they wanted more. That allowed us to reach Christians, church safety volunteers, pastors, Jewish followers, and others who wanted practical information about protecting their churches and families.
When my daughter Caitlyn took over our Facebook work, the page grew from roughly 1,000 followers to 60,000 in about three months. The growth happened because Facebook was recommending our content. People saw the information, found value in it, and chose to follow us.
Then, in April, everything changed.
Restricted Without an Explanation
Facebook demonetized the page and stopped recommending our content. The notice said we had violated community standards, but it did not tell me what we had posted that supposedly violated those standards.
That leaves a creator trying to correct a problem that Facebook will not identify. You cannot remove the offending post, change your approach, or even make a meaningful appeal when no one will tell you what you allegedly did wrong.
More recently, I received another notice telling me that I had 30 days to appeal or Facebook might take further action against the account. The notice did not clearly explain what that action would be. It could have meant another restriction, or it could have placed the entire Facebook and Instagram presence at risk.
I clicked the appeal button. Nothing happened.
That is a common problem for creators dealing with large social media companies. There is often no obvious phone number, no accessible customer service department, and no person who can explain why an account has been restricted.
Paying for Access to Customer Service
I belong to a Signal group with some of the largest firearms creators online. Several of them told me that purchasing Meta Verified could provide access to customer service. I paid $12.95, worked through the support process, and finally reached someone.
The support representative called to confirm my identity. Communication was difficult at times, but we worked through it. I asked him to open the Christian Warrior Training page and show me the type of post Facebook considered a problem.
The example he selected was a warning about thieves stripping copper, scrap metal, and air conditioning equipment from more than 30 churches in St. Louis.
The post explained that police were seeing a renewed crime wave rather than a few isolated incidents. It warned church leaders about the repeated thefts and offered practical steps they could take to protect buildings that may sit empty for much of the week.
Facebook classified that church crime warning as politically divisive.
Read that again. A post warning churches about theft and helping them protect their property was presented as an example of politically divisive content.
There was no political candidate in the post. There was no political party. There was no election argument. It was a church security warning based on reported criminal activity.
I asked the representative a simple question: If someone is warning people about crime and giving them ways to protect themselves, should that not be the kind of useful information a social media company wants on its platform?
He agreed.
The Appeal Was Rejected While Support Was Helping Me
Facebook then required me to upload identification. I provided a government issued ID while the representative was still helping me by phone.
The system rejected it almost immediately.
The representative was there with me, walking through the process, and the automated system still refused the identification. I spent about an hour on the phone trying to resolve a problem that should never have required this much effort.
As I write this, I am still waiting to learn whether Facebook will accept my identification and restore the page’s ability to reach people.
Why I Am Telling You This
I am sharing this because most viewers never see what happens behind the screen. You may follow a page and assume you will continue to see its posts. That is no longer a safe assumption.
A social media company can stop recommending a creator overnight. It can reduce the audience without clearly identifying the reason. It can threaten further action while providing an appeal button that does not work. The creator may have no meaningful way to reach a person unless he pays for a verification service.
Firearms creators have dealt with these restrictions for years. Content related to the Second Amendment is routinely limited, demonetized, or removed. Christian creators face many of the same problems when they discuss faith, evil, crime, self defense, and the responsibility to protect innocent people.
In this case, Facebook’s own example was not inflammatory or partisan. It was a factual warning intended to help churches prevent theft.
I believe this is censorship. Whatever label Facebook places on it, the practical result is the same: fewer people receive information that can help them protect their church and family, and fewer people hear the message of Jesus Christ.
Do Not Let an Algorithm Decide Whether We Stay Connected
If you follow Christian Warrior Training on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or another platform, please like the page, subscribe, and turn on alerts. Those actions may help, but none of them guarantees that the platform will continue showing you our work.
The best way to stay connected is to subscribe at ChristianWarriorTraining.com.
I send only a few emails each week. I do not spam you, and I do not share your information. If a social media company removes Christian Warrior Training, the email list gives us a way to reconnect somewhere else with as little interruption as possible.
If you can afford a paid subscription, it directly supports this work and helps us continue providing church security information, training, and intelligence. If you cannot afford one, stay on the free list. Take care of your family and tithe to your church first. The people who can support this ministry help keep the information available for those who cannot.
Please pray for Christian Warrior Training. Pray that we can continue reaching the people who need this information. Pray also for the people making these decisions, that they will come to know Christ and understand the effect these restrictions have on others.
