- Twitter removed a message by Rudy Giuliani and temporarily locked his account for sharing coronavirus misinformation.
- In the tweet, Giulaini quoted conspiracy theorist and conservative activist Charlie Kirk promoting anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus cure.
- Tests have not established that hydroxychloroquine is a safe or effective cure for the virus.
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Twitter removed a message by Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, for spreading misinformation about the coronavirus and making groundless attacks on Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
In the tweet on Friday, Giuliani quoted conservative youth activist Charlie Kirk, who claimed that an unproven anti-malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine "in at least three international tests was found 100% effective in treating the coronavirus," according to screen shots of the message published by Mediate.
He went on to quote Kirk claiming that Whitmer, who in recent days has been targeted in attacks by Trump, is "threatening" doctors who prescribe the drug.
The drug has also been touted by Trump as a potential coronavirus cure - but doctors have warned that it can cause cardiac arrhythmia, a condition that can be fatal for patients with heart conditions.
Twitter confirmed to multiple news outlets that it had temporarily locked the account and removed the tweet.
The site did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Business Insider has attempted to reach Giuliani for comment.
Under Twitter's policies, messages that contain content that "goes directly against guidance from authoritative sources of global and local public health information" are banned, including the "description of treatments or protective measures which ... are being shared with the intent to mislead others."
Last week a man in Arizona died after consuming chloroquine phosphate - a chemical commonly used to clean fish tanks. The man's wife, who also fell ill consuming the substance, told NBC News that they had taken the substance after seeing Trump promoting a form of chloroquine as a treatment for the novel coronavirus.
It is not the first time Giuliani has shared misinformation and conspiracies, with the Daily Beast reporting last October that the former New York City mayor followed hundreds of accounts that promoted the far-right conspiracy theories.
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Twitter spox confirms to me that both @RudyGiuliani and @charliekirk11's accounts were "temporarily locked for violating the Twitter Rules regarding COVID-19 misinformation."
- Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) March 28, 2020