US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's Twitter account has been permanently suspended for multiple violations of Covid-19 misinformation policy. Twitter came across Ms. Greene's covid-related posts and felt that it could possibly torment people's mental health. She tweeted wrong information about the number of covid-19 vaccine deaths.
She pulled out these numbers from an unverified government portal "Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System" or VAERS, where patients self-report covid-19 cases on their own. Previously, Twitter suspended Greene's account four times, but now, she was permanently removed. "We've been clear that, per our strike system for this policy, we will permanently suspend accounts for repeated violations of the policy," the spokesperson said.
Greene used to tweet more often from her official Twitter account @mtgreenee, which has a follower count of 465,000+ people. Although Ms. Greene's @mtgreenee account is shut completely, her other Twitter account that goes by the handle @RepMTG with 386,000+ followers is still accessible for her to publicly tweet her thoughts. Greene's official account won't be restored again, as this is the fifth time she has encountered a similar type of warning.
'Vaccines Failing'
In August, she tweeted about vaccines failing, and that's when her account was suspended for the fourth time. The third suspension happened barely a month before the fourth suspension, where she tweeted that the pandemic is not life-threatening or dangerous, and the covid vaccine should not be made mandatory as well. Ms. Greene's sloppy tweets without legitimate evidence pushed Twitter to take a permanent call to eliminate her from the platform.
This is not the first time Twitter has suspended a higher political face from the most popular social media platform. Previously, former U.S President Donald Trump has also faced similar suspensions. Well, speaking about Greene's Twitter ban, she said "Twitter is an enemy to America and can't handle the truth," Greene said. "That's fine, I'll show America we don't need them and it's time to defeat our enemies."
Mitch McConnell, an American politician and Minority leader of the U.S. Senate, called Greene embrace of conspiracy theories and "loony lies" a "cancer for the Republican Party."
There were a mixed bag of reactions on Twitter with respect to Marjorie Taylor Greene's Twitter account suspension.
Jason Miller, a political adviser to Trump and CEO of GETTR, called on Greene to join his social media app Gettr. "Free speech is under assault once again! Fortunately, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene will always have a political voice at #GETTR," he wrote on his Twitter account. He further wrote, "#GETTR has your back, Congresswoman @ mtg4america @ repmtg! "Marjorie Taylor Greene's personal Twitter account permanently suspended over COVID-19 'misinformation'" 'Twitter is an enemy to America,' the congresswoman fired back.
Jon Cooper, Formerly National Finance Chair of Draft Biden 2016, reaction to Green's Twitter account suspension: "Who agrees that, instead of fining Marjorie Taylor Greene $2,500 each time she refuses to wear a mask on the House floor, she should be BARRED from the floor instead?"
Congressman Jamaal Bowman's reaction to Green's Twitter account suspension: "The fact that a sitting Member of Congress is toying with the idea of civil war 8 days before January 6 should alarm everyone. We expelled 14 Members in 1861 for supporting the confederacy. Why does Marjorie Taylor Greene still have her seat? She must be expelled", he writes on his handle.
Marcus Flowers, a Georgia Democrat, and also a competitor for Greene's reaction to her Twitter account suspension: "Marjorie Taylor Greene shouldn't be on Twitter or in Congress." He future wrote, "This year I will unseat Marjorie Taylor Greene."
Democrat Holly McCormack's reaction to her ban: "Unlike Marjorie Taylor Greene, I still have a Twitter handle. I'm going to defeat her this year."
Jenna Ellis, an American Lawyer, and also a part of Trump's legal department reaction to Ms. Greene's Twitter account suspension: "The suspension of Marjorie Taylor Greene is just as ridiculous, baseless, and political as the suspension of Donald Trump."
Commenting on the issue, Ned Segal, Twitter CFO said, "Our policies are designed to make sure that people are not inciting violence." He further added, "Trump was removed when he was president, and there'd be no difference for anybody who's a public official once they've been removed from the service."
