Twitter permanently suspends Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s personal account over covid-19 misinformation

Twitter has permanently suspended the personal account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), saying Sunday that she repeatedly violated the company’s covid-19 misinformation policy.

The suspension came hours after she published a tweet falsely suggesting “extremely high amounts of Covid vaccine deaths.” Included was a chart featuring data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which provides self-reported information that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns does not imply causation.

The congresswoman’s verified personal account had been temporarily suspended two times over the summer. In July, she lost access for 12 hours after falsely claiming that the coronavirus was “not dangerous for non-obese people and those under 65.” A month later, she faced a week-long suspension after falsely tweeting that the coronavirus vaccines were “failing.”

Twitter on Sunday cited a “strike” system for violations of its covid policy, which bars users from sharing content that is “demonstrably false or misleading and may lead to significant risk of harm.” Five or more strikes lead to a permanent suspension.

“We’ve been clear that, per our strike system for this policy, we will permanently suspend accounts for repeated violations of the policy,” Katie Rosborough, a company spokeswoman, said in an email to The Washington Post.

In a statement on the messaging app Telegram, Greene lambasted Twitter, saying it “is an enemy to America and can’t handle the truth. That’s fine, I’ll show America we don’t need them.” She shared the message on other social media alternatives on which she has a presence, including Gettr, a conservative-friendly site led by former Trump adviser Jason Miller.