Twitter has once again suspended US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene for allegedly spreading COVID vaccine misinformation anew, writes The New York Times. The aforementioned suspension will last 7 days.
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 27: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Department of Justice on July 27, 2021 in Washington, DC. A group of far-right conservatives held a news conference to demand answers from Attorney General Merrick Garland on the status of prisoners being held in connection with the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
According to Twitter, the suspension was due to Greene's recent tweet that the FDA shouldn't approve the release of coronavirus vaccines, further adding that the vaccines were allegedly "failing." Under the social media company's new classifications for tweets, the Georgia representative's tweet was labeled as "misleading."
This would be the third and apparently harshest fine that Twitter has levied on Greene for her controversial posts. She was suspended for 12 hours back in January for tweeting conspiracy theories regarding the Georgia Senate runoff elections, and once again last month for another 12 hours by helping spread COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation, reports CNN.
In her Twitter profile, Greene posted that the FDA "should not approve vaccines" because there were too many reports of infections in vaccinated individuals. She also added that the vaccines aren't doing anything to prevent the virus' spread, along with wearing masks.
Greene's recent Twitter suspension is under the company's COVID-19 misinformation policy. Any user who breaks the said policy will be handed a one-week suspension. Break the rules five or more times, and the user can be banned permanently. However, Twitter didn't really reveal how many times Greene has violated the policy.
Twitter's Misinformation Crackdown: How Has It Fared So Far?
Twitter has been intensifying its crackdown on misinformation spreaders on its platform, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. But it hasn't been smooth-sailing all the time.
This photograph taken on October 26, 2020 shows the logo of US social network Twitter displayed on the screen of a smartphone and a tablet in Toulouse, southern France.
For instance, it has been revealed that Twitter gave a handful of blue checkmarks to several fake accounts. A total of six accounts received the blue checks, which means the account is verified as authentic for the uninitiated. However, the six accounts have multiple glaring issues concerning their authenticity, including having around 1,000 followers each. Worse, the followers that the accounts have were more or less similar:
Meet @aykacmis, @degismece, @anlamislar, @aykacti, @kayitlii, and @donmedim, a sextet of blue-check verified Twitter accounts created on June 16th, 2021. None has yet tweeted and all have roughly 1000 followers (and mostly the *same* followers).
cc: @ZellaQuixote pic.twitter.com/V82Wtu0SNr— Conspirador Norteño (@conspirator0) July 12, 2021
Still, this hasn't stopped Twitter from doing what it can to curb the spread of misinformation, especially about COVID vaccines. Early last month, a user who claimed COVID vaccines are magnetic has been kicked out of the platform. The user, Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, is a prominent anti-vaxxer who went by the Twitter name @BusyDrT.
COVID Vaccines ARE Effective, Just Not In The Way Most Expect
For the last time, the testimonies of Greene and other vaccine detractors are false. FDA-approved vaccines against the coronavirus are effective at helping prevent the spread of the virus. While they're not always effective at keeping people from getting infected, all vaccines are spotless at preventing hospitalization and death.
Furthermore, even if a fully vaccinated individual still gets the virus, the chances of them passing it onto others are much, much lower, writes ClevelandClinic. This goes for anyone who has a good reaction to the COVID vaccine.
Related: COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Campaigns on Facebook, Twitter Pushed by Biden to Invite 16 Year-Olds
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by RJ Pierce
Related Article
COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Campaigns on Facebook, Twitter Pushed by Biden to Invite 16 Year-Olds
Anti-Vaxxer Claiming COVID-19 Vaccines are Magnetic Got Suspended on Twitter
Twitter Adds BlueCheck Verification to Multiple Fake Accounts—How Did They Fool the Process?
