Possibility with no insider info: this could be all Facebook. I’ve seen advertisers believe sponsored content won’t be labeled until it goes live. FB leadership could have freaked upon seeing it. The channel to have sponsored content removed wouldn’t likely be editorial decision.
Anyway just a hunch if it was a paid placement by advertiser. It also could have gone live prematurely or improperly. Good news is this will likely be explained and can be fixed quickly online unlike print. My bet is still on FB freaking over the, albeit proper, label :)
I’m more amused at how Facebook’s influential employees all did their jobs to promote it and then whatever happened happened. My guess it’s the label still. Facebook has extremely thin skin which right now in this moment in time won’t serve them well.
Assuming no answers still. I see FB got statement out it wasn’t sponsored content. That doesn’t mean anything. FB pays for lots of stuff (speaking slots, product placement, etc) They just don’t want it to be labeled and known. So it can involve $ and their statement also be true.
