( CNN ) -- Facebook is facing pressure to return money it accepted to run ads promoting its page for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad 's presidential campaign . The social media network has pulled the ads , which directed users to the campaign page , but it has refused to say whether it will return the money it took in exchange for them . `` By accepting money for 'promoted posts , ' Facebook has provided a platform for the propaganda of a regime that has been at the heart of one of the world 's most brutal conflicts , '' Anna Nolan of The Syria Campaign said Monday . The group has created an online petition , multiple YouTube videos and launched website called AdsForDictators.org calling on Facebook to return the money and take down the Assad campaign page . Launched in May , the Facebook page is called `` Sawa al-Assad '' ( Sawa means `` together '' ) and has more than 230,000 likes . It is regularly updated with photos from the Assad campaign , including pictures of Bashar al-Assad and his wife , Asma , going to a polling station to vote Tuesday . Polls for the Syrian presidential election opened against the backdrop of a bloody and protracted civil war , and al-Assad is almost guaranteed to emerge victorious in a vote that opposition groups and many Western countries say has been be rigged from the start . `` We have looked onto this thoroughly , including reviewing IP address and payment information , and we have no evidence that these ads were ordered from Syria , '' a Facebook representative said . An IP address indicates an Internet user 's location , though users can easily mask real IP addresses to make it appear they 're in another country . `` We comply with all relevant Syrian sanctions and we do not permit ads originating from or targeting Syria , '' the Facebook representative added . Even though it removed the ads promoting the page , Facebook says it is not considering taking down the Assad campaign page . `` You 'll find a range of voices debating events in Syria on Facebook , '' according to the Facebook representative . Users do n't have to pay to open an account on social media , so the social network typically allows political leaders and heads of state to maintain a presence on its platforms , regardless of their standing . Social media networks often prefer not to decide which leaders deserve and do n't deserve the ability to have a presence on their sites . The campaign to reelect al-Assad has maintained an active presence on Facebook and other social media with additional accounts on Twitter , Instagram and YouTube , which are all regularly updated .
The site has taken down ads for a page promoting President al - Qaeda 's presidential campaign . Syria accuses Facebook of accepting money from a regime ` ` at the end '' of a brutal war . ` ` We comply with all relevant Syrian sanctions , '' a Facebook spokesman says . The site typically allows heads of state to have a presence , regardless of their nationality .