© Advance NZ
Facebook told 1 NEWS the page was taken down after "repeatedly breaching our misinformation policies".
"We don't allow anyone to share misinformation on our platforms about Covid-19 that could lead to imminent physical harm," a spokesperson said.
But party co-leader Billy Te Kahika bristled this afternoon at the action, issuing a statement on behalf of Advance NZ.
© Diego Opatowski/AFPThis file photo taken on September 9, 2020 shows aspiring New Zealand politician Billy Te Kahika Jr., co-leader of the party Advance New Zealand, at a campaign rally in Mangawhai
"Advance NZ has been bravely questioning the Government's approach to Covid-19, sharing the views and advice of international scientists, and standing up to vested interests in New Zealand.
"This is a cynical example of election interference by an American-owned social media outlet that has no business performing any such operation in our sovereign nation."
He went on to say he is "horrified beyond belief" at the move before mentioning the take down is an attack on "free speech".
"We need to stand now, in this election, to protect our rights and freedoms. We need a full inquiry into Facebook's election interference.
"If Facebook wants advertising revenue from New Zealanders, then Facebook must recognise free speech in our nation."
Facebook, however, was undeterred.
"We have clear policies against this type of content and will enforce on these policies regardless of anyone's political position or party affiliation," the spokesperson said. "We removed Advance New Zealand/New Zealand Public Party's Facebook Page for repeated violations of this policy."
The move comes as an ongoing study recently found the Advance NZ/New Zealand Public Party is the worst offender of "half-truths" and fake news on Facebook during the election campaign.
The New Zealand Social Media Study, led by Victoria University's Mona Krewel and Jack Vowles, found 31 per cent of the party's posts on the social media site were "half-truths" - content that's not completely false but still contains information that's not fully accurate - while six per cent were fake news.
The New Conservative Party was second in the running for posting the most "half-truths" (16 per cent of their Facebook posts) and fake news (3.7 per cent).
ACT was third, with nine per cent of their posts on Facebook considered "half-truths". But, none of their posts spread fake news.
Vowles said earlier that it was "not surprising" that "the only parties spreading fake news on Facebook are Advance New Zealand and the New Conservative Party".
"Advance New Zealand — which also incorporates the New Zealand Public Party — is a new party that needs a lot of media attention to have a chance of success. Negativity or conflict increases the 'newsworthiness' of stories," he said.
"Already before the start of the election campaign, the New Zealand Public Party was spreading conspiracy stories. ... It is disturbing most of their misinformation is about Covid-19.
"If widely believed, it has the potential to become life-threatening."
Facebook announced yesterday plans to crack down on posts discouraging vaccinations. The policy, however, is only intended to target paid advertisement posts.
Ads that "advocate for or against legislation or government policies around vaccines" — including a Covid-19 vaccine — will still be allowed, the Associated Press reported.
The party, which has staged multiple anti-lockdown protests, has gained traction with well-known American anti-vaccine activists.
Comment: With New Zealanders chafing under some of the strictest covid lockdown policies in the world, no wonder the MSM and its social media cronies want to squelch any accurate information that would encourage unrest.