Twitter has imposed another suspension on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) for posting information on the coronavirus pandemic that was clearly misleading and false.
Greene had wrongly tweeted that vaccines being distributed across the United States were failing, and derided the idea of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) possibly giving them full authorization in the coming weeks.
Contradicting Greene’s assertions, evidence has shown that vaccines are indeed working to stop the spread of COVID-19.
In areas where vaccination rates are higher the rates for positive coronavirus tests are lower. The vaccines have also lessened the severity of the virus in “breakthrough” cases, rare instances where vaccinated individuals have tested positive for coronavirus. Indeed, 97 percent of those who are currently hospitalized for COVID are individuals who have not received even one dose of vaccine to protect against it.
Twitter’s rules against posting false content requires a tweet to advance a claim as a definitive fact, which is also “demonstrably false or misleading” and would likely “impact public safety or cause serious harm.” By falsely describing vaccines as unsafe, Greene’s tweet appears to violate the social media company’s standards on all three fronts.
Because she has broken the rules multiple times, Greene’s account “will be in read-only mode for a week,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.
Twitter uses a “strike” system, and the severity of her punishment suggests she has reached four strikes so far for multiple rules violations. If she gets a fifth strike, she can be permanently banned from the social media platform.
Although Greene has only been suspended by the site a few times, an account can receive multiple strikes for a single violation, if it is severe enough.
In January, Greene was penalized for posting false conspiracy theories about the Georgia Senate runoff elections. In July, she was also suspended for 12 hours due to her making other false claims about the pandemic, including saying coronavirus was not dangerous for people under a certain age if they didn’t have underlying health conditions. She also wrongly claimed in those same tweets that the vaccines were unsafe.
In a statement about her suspension this week, Greene expressed no remorse for her actions, restating the false claims that led to her being temporarily booted from the platform in the first place. She also suggested her suspension came about simply because “the truth is so offensive” to Twitter and those opposed to her politically.
Angry, shocked, overwhelmed? Take action: Support independent media.
We’ve borne witness to a chaotic first few months in Trump’s presidency.
Over the last months, each executive order has delivered shock and bewilderment — a core part of a strategy to make the right-wing turn feel inevitable and overwhelming. But, as organizer Sandra Avalos implored us to remember in Truthout last November, “Together, we are more powerful than Trump.”
Indeed, the Trump administration is pushing through executive orders, but — as we’ve reported at Truthout — many are in legal limbo and face court challenges from unions and civil rights groups. Efforts to quash anti-racist teaching and DEI programs are stalled by education faculty, staff, and students refusing to comply. And communities across the country are coming together to raise the alarm on ICE raids, inform neighbors of their civil rights, and protect each other in moving shows of solidarity.
It will be a long fight ahead. And as nonprofit movement media, Truthout plans to be there documenting and uplifting resistance.
As we undertake this life-sustaining work, we appeal for your support. Please, if you find value in what we do, join our community of sustainers by making a monthly or one-time gift.