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Marjorie Taylor Greene suspended from Twitter for claiming COVID-19 is 'not dangerous' to most people

Jul 20, 2021, 16:02 IST
Business Insider
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has gained notoriety for peddling baseless conspiracy theories. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
  • Marjorie Taylor Greene was suspended from Twitter for 12 hours for COVID-19 misinformation.
  • She said, falsely, that the virus is only dangerous to older and obese people.
  • On a Facebook live, she misrepresented her statements and said she was being "canceled."
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Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was suspended from Twitter for 12 hours for the false claim that COVID-19 is not dangerous for obese people and under-65s.

Greene was barred from tweeting for 12 hours from her @mtgreenee account, which remains on "read-only" mode, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed to Insider. Her second account, @RepMTG, was still active as of early Tuesday.

The two tweets that prompted the move were labeled "misleading" by the platform. Greene has previously spread several conspiracy theories, and is an outspoken critic of the vaccine rollout.

In a 34-minute Facebook Live, Greene said she was "pretty upset" and that she was being "censored."

She claimed she was punished "simply for talking about COVID-19 and talking about the vaccines," and went on to misrepresent her tweets by saying she had merely been emphasizing that obesity and age add to the risk of hospitalization from COVID-19.

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Obesity and old age increase the risk of severe illness from the virus, but young and non-obese people can still become seriously ill with it, per the CDC.

There are examples of younger people, even those without prior conditions, being badly sickened and even dying from the virus.

Twitter's 12-hour suspension policy for misinformation was introduced in March, according to the BBC.

Greene's account was previously suspended twice, in March and April, in moves that the company said were a mistake in its automated moderation system, according to the Associated Press. Greene rejected that explanation.

Twitter's move comes soon after President Joe Biden urged social media companies to crack down on COVID-19 misinformation, saying Facebook was "killing people." He walked back that comment on Monday.

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On Facebook, Greene framed Twitter's move as an attack on conservatives.

"Here's the reality: They have been censoring conservatives for far too long. Our voices are the voices they want to cancel," she said.

She also linked it to her recent difficulties, with Rep. Matt Gaetz, in securing a venue for their "America First" rally.

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