Marjorie Taylor Greene gets longest Twitter suspension yet after falsely claiming COVID vaccines and masks don't work
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has once again been suspended from Twitter for sharing misinformation about COVID-19. Her account is on a seven-day lock, according to Twitter.
The suspension comes one day after Greene tweeted that the FDA "should not approve" COVID vaccines. She falsely claimed that "vaccines are failing and do not reduce the spread of the virus and neither do masks." The tweet is no longer able to be shared and has been attached with a label indicating that it is misleading.
A Twitter spokesperson told CBS News that Greene's tweet was flagged for misinformation and that her account will be in read-only mode for a week "due to repeated violations."
While it is true that vaccinated people can sometimes still contract and spread the virus, data shows that they are far less likely to experience severe illness, hospitalization or death. Unvaccinated people now make up the overwhelming majority of COVID hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S.
"We still see that these vaccines are doing a very good job preventing symptomatic disease, preventing hospitalization and death," Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former head of the FDA, told CBS News last week.
Greene wrote about the suspension on Facebook, saying, "I've been banned again."
In a statement posted on Telegram, the Georgia Republican said she has vaccinated family members who are sick with COVID and that she has "talked with numerous people who have scary side effects."
She writes: "But if I dare says the truth, Twitter suspends me because the truth is so offensive to the fragile hypocrites all over Twitter. ... They will allow porn on Twitter. They will allow posts about parents transitioning their children and changing their gender on Twitter. But Twitter won't allow any real discussion of the truth from an elected Congressman."
This is the second time Greene has been suspended from Twitter in less than a month for spreading misinformation about COVID-19. On July 19, the platform suspended Greene for 12 hours from being able to use her account after she falsely claimed that the virus is not dangerous for those who are not obese or over the age of 65.
She was also suspended earlier this year for spreading election conspiracy theories.
According to the company's policy, Twitter users who rack up five "strikes" for posting COVID-19 misinformation can be permanently suspended.
