Twitter rejects ad for 'One Man One Woman' marriage book, citing policy banning 'hate content'

Twitter has reportedly rejected a pastor's advertisement for his new book titled "One Man One Woman: God's Original Design for Marriage," which advocates for a traditional Christian belief in marriage.

The Christian Post reported that former pastor Craig Stellpflug paid Twitter on June 2 to promote his tweet about his book that was published by WestBow Press in June.

Stellpflug's tweet, which includes a photo of his book and a link to the WestBow Press online bookstore, states: "One Man One Woman is about God's original design for marriage carried from Adam and Eve in the garden through today."

The next day, however, the social media platform sent an email to the pastor telling him that his tweet "has not been approved for use in your Twitter Ads campaign."

"This determination is based on the following Twitter Ads policy: Hate," Twitter stated in the email.

The email to the pastor included a link to Twitter's ad policy, which states that the platform prohibits advertisements with "hate content, sensitive topics, and violence globally."

Stellpflug, a retired cancer nutritionist with a pastoral career who now teaches Bible study and Sunday school at Sunrise Baptist Church in Custer, Washington, maintained that his book is "definitely not an anti-gay book" and stressed that it does not "give any special weight to homosexuality."

"I do give tremendous weight to God's forgiveness, God's judgment versus our judgment," he told The Christian Post.

The pastor noted that his book recounts the time when he pulled a gun on his gay college roommate and nearly shot him for making a "homosexual pass" at him while he was asleep. However, he insists that the act was done to prevent further attempts to make physical contact with him, not out of hate against LGBT individuals.

The book also touches on the issue regarding the use of everyday chemicals that are said to cause hormone disruption. Stellpflug claims that the use of such chemicals is causing "hormonal evolution of our species at breakneck speed."

Stellpflug said he paid Twitter again on Thursday to promote another tweet promoting his book, but he did not immediately receive a response from the social media giant.

Twitter has been accused of censoring advertisements that promote social conservative values in the past.

In June, the social media platform prohibited the pro-life group Live Action from buying advertisements due to its messages that have been deemed as hateful and insensitive. The tweets in question reportedly included ultrasound images, discussions of the beauty of prenatal life, and fact-checks of Planned Parenthood's claims.

A representative from Twitter reportedly stated that the pro-life group would have to delete virtually all of their previous tweets and overhaul their website before they would be allowed to advertise on the platform.