Twitter on Monday suspended the account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) for 12 hours over what the social media giant deemed “misleading” information on COVID-19.
“We took enforcement action on the account you referenced (@mtgreenee) for violations of the Twitter Rules, specifically the COVID-19 misleading information policy,” Twitter said in an emailed statement to Axios.
Greene had tweeted a post about the U.S. military and vaccines. “The controversial #COVID19 vaccines should not be forced on our military for a virus that is not dangerous for non-obese people and those under 65,” she claimed. “With 6,000 vax-related deaths and many concerning side effects reported, the vax should be a choice not a mandate for everyone.”
Greene’s claim appears based on the number of deaths reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, which collects data on potential adverse reactions to vaccines. As such, the deaths submitted to VAERS are merely people who died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, not people whose deaths have been linked to a vaccine. According to the CDC, the system “generally cannot assess if vaccine caused an adverse event.”
The controversial #COVID19 vaccines should not be forced on our military for a virus that is not dangerous for non-obese people and those under 65.
With 6,000 vax related deaths and many concerning side effects reported, the vax should be a choice not a mandate for everyone. https://t.co/JhYg3acrrK
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) July 19, 2021
Twitter attached a tag to Greene’s post that said: “This Tweet is misleading. Learn why health officials recommend a vaccine for most people.”
Twitter attached the same tag to another tweet by Greene, in which she said: “This is why no entity should force NON-FDA approved vaccines or masks. Instead help people protect their health by defeating obesity, which will protect them from covid [sic] complications & death, and many other health problems. We should invest in health, not human experimentation.”
Greene has been an outspoken critic of vaccines, at one point comparing them to Nazi Germany. In May, she tweeted an article about a Tennessee grocery store that had added a “vaccination logo” to employee name badges.
“Vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazi’s [sic] forced Jewish people to wear a gold star,” wrote Greene, a reference to the yellow stars worn by Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe. “Vaccine passports & mask mandates create discrimination against unvaxxed people who trust their immune systems to a virus that is 99% survivable.”
In another tweet, Greene warned: “Pretty soon it will be. ‘We only hire vaccinated people, show your vax papers.’ ‘We only admit vaccinated students, show your vax papers.’ ‘These bathrooms are only for vaccinated people, show your vax papers.’ Then.. …scan your bar code or swipe your chip on your arm.”
Greene later apologized for the tweets after visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. “There is no comparison to the Holocaust and there are words that I have said, remarks that I’ve made that I know are offensive and I want to apologize,” she told reporters.
The Republican’s tweets came after White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki last week admitted that the administration is contacting Facebook and telling them what posts that it deems to be “problematic” based on what the administration claims is “misinformation.”
“This is a big issue of misinformation, specifically on the pandemic. In terms of actions … that we have taken or we’re working to take I should say from the federal government, we’ve increased disinformation research and tracking within the Surgeon General’s office,” Psaki said.
“We’re flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation. We’re working with doctors and medical professionals to connect to connected medical experts … who are popular with their audiences with accurate information and boost trusted content. So we’re helping get trusted content out there,” she said.