Facebook refuses to remove attack advert linking Ilhan Omar to Hamas

Facebook has refused calls to remove an advertisement from its platform that claims Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has links to Hamas, despite her aides telling the social media giant that the message was inaccurate and could incite people to send the lawmaker death threats.

The incident could become the latest source of ammunition for Democratic lawmakers who have long claimed that Facebook does an inadequate job of removing false and misleading information which can potential spin-off real world consequences.

The Washington Post reported that Ms Omar's office reached out to Facebook on Tuesday asking the ad - which was produced by a pro-Israeli lobbyist group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee - to be removed.

In one ad, Ms Omar's face is superimposed onto Hamas rockets and text accompanying the image claims "when Israel targets Hamas, Rep. Omar calls it an act of terrorism."

The ad appears to twist a tweet made by the congresswoman in order to make its claim.

In the tweet, Ms Omar said that Israeli airstrikes that kill civilians in Gaza was an act of terrorism. She did not say that Israeli airstrikes that target Hamas were terrorist acts.

"Israeli air strikes killing civilians in Gaza is an act of terrorism. Palestinians deserve protection," she wrote. "Unlike Israel, missile defense programs, such as Iron Dome, don’t exist to protect Palestinian civilians. It’s unconscionable to not condemn these attacks on the week of Eid."

Ms Omar's aides warned Facebook that previous images attempting to link her to Hamas have resulted in the lawmaker receiving death threats. They told the company that the ad "peddles both hate speech and misinformation."

Facebook initially responded by saying it could not find the ad. After locating it, the company reviewed its content and ruled it did not violate the social media platform's policies.

The ad was widely seen, racking up an estimated 500,000 to 1 million views, and was part of a series condemning other lawmakers who opposed Israel's airstrikes, including Senator Bernie Sanders.

Andy Stone, a spokesman for Facebook, confirmed to The Washington Post that the company did review the ads and deemed them acceptable under its policies.

Ms Omar's office told Facebook it was "deeply concerned that Facebook would continue to profit off this hate" in an email exchange with the company.