Under the Dome: A deceptive ad on Facebook, and a backlash over claims on TikTok
Good morning and welcome to the Under the Dome newsletter. I’m Emily Vespa.
A suspicious Facebook ad that featured a photo of Gov. Roy Cooper is not connected to the governor or his office, a spokesperson told The News & Observer. The ad, which targeted North Carolina seniors, touted a “State Regulated Burial Program” offering insurance for funeral expenses.
“We have been in contact with Meta and they have taken action to remove the ad from the Facebook platform,” Ben Conroy, Cooper’s press secretary, said in an email.
Over a nearly five-week span, 7,000 to 8,000 North Carolinians viewed the ad. It’s linked to a Facebook page called “Introduction to Final Expense Burial Planning.” The now-inactive page spent a total of $136,000 to also run similar ads in other states, some of which reached audiences of over 500,000. A call to the phone number attached to the page went unanswered Thursday.
The ad said the state approved a program that pays for up to $25,000 of final expenses for eligible North Carolina seniors. Greensboro’s WFMY reported a similar claim in a 2017 mailing.
Final expense insurance covers costs like medical bills or funerals after death, and companies do sell such insurance in North Carolina. The North Carolina Department of Insurance regulates insurance companies, which must be licensed to do business in the state. That means any final expense insurance plan sold by a licensed company in North Carolina is technically a state regulated program.
Choice Mutual, a life insurance company, said in a July blog post that ads like these are a deceptive attempt to sell insurance. They appear to be sponsored or endorsed by the government, but they’re not.
BRITT FACES BACKLASH OVER ALLEGED ABORTION COMMENT
State Sen. Danny Britt, a Robeson County Republican, is facing backlash after a viral TikTok alleged he told a constituent concerned about state abortion laws to move to another country, like Venezuela or Russia, reports Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi.
In the TikTok video, a woman named Lindsay Talley said North Carolina’s abortion law prevents her friend, who has a genetic disorder that causes life-threatening fetal anomalies, from expanding her family. (State law allows for abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, after which an abortion is only lawful in certain circumstances, including up to 20 weeks in the case of rape or incest and up to 24 if a physician determines the fetus has a life-limiting anomaly.)
Talley said her friend wrote a letter to Britt about her concerns. She said Britt responded by saying he wasn’t certain how the abortion law limited her from expanding her family.
“I suggest you move to China immediately and see how that works out for you,” Britt added, according to Talley. “If for some reason that fails, Russia is nice in the winter and Venezuela in the summer.”
Britt has been silent on the claim. He didn’t respond to The N&O’s attempts to reach him by phone, email and text.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats chided Britt on X for his “appalling response” to a constituent, saying it “shows just how out of touch he and his Republican Senate colleagues are.”
GOVERNOR PARDONS FALSELY ACCUSED PASTOR
Cooper on Wednesday granted a rare pardon of innocence to a Pitt County pastor who served eight years in prison for a robbery he didn’t commit, making him eligible for $400,000 in state compensation.
For over 30 years, protesters pleaded for the Rev. Darron Carmon’s pardon. Carmon was charged at 19 years old with robbing a store at gunpoint and taking $281. He was released in 2001 on good behavior, and in 2022, the state found evidence that proved his innocence in a police locker.
Cooper also pardoned another man and commuted six sentences. Josh Shaffer has more.
WHAT ELSE WE’RE WORKING ON
A committee of the UNC System Board of Governors is considering drafting a policy on protests after pro-Palestinian encampments roiled college campuses across the country, reports Korie Dean. A policy, which is far from being finalized, would apply to all 17 campuses in the board’s jurisdiction.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he will consider President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, but he hasn’t committed his vote, reports Danielle Battaglia. It’s unclear whether Senate Republicans will back Gaetz, who’s a divisive figure even among members of his own party. Tillis previously said it would “make for a popcorn-eating confirmation.”
Today’s newsletter was by Emily Vespa. Check your inbox on Sunday for more #ncpol in our weekly newsletter focused on the governor’s race.
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