Marjorie Taylor Greene just got suspended by Twitter for the fourth time after posting blatantly false information. She’s not happy about it. American Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, hailed as a rising star of the Republican Party by former President Donald Trump, has lashed out at Twitter after being suspended from the platform for spreading false information about the coronavirus vaccines. Ms. Greene is in the habit of believing in outlandish conspiracy theories, and this is the fourth time Twitter has suspended her.
One of those suspensions was for spreading debunked theories about the 2020 presidential election. Another was for claiming that COVID is not dangerous to people unless they’re obese or over 65. (If you agree with her, may I suggest you read this story about a five-year-old boy who recently died from COVID-19 in the United States.) Anyway, you get the idea. She’s not a reliable source of information. Yesterday, the Georgia Congresswoman told her followers the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “should not approve” the coronavirus vaccines, which are currently available to the public under emergency use authorizations.
The FDA’s final, permanent approval is expected to happen within weeks. “There are too many reports of infection and spread of COVID among vaccinated people,” Ms. Greene said. “These vaccines are failing and do not reduce the virus’s spread, nor do masks. “Vaccine mandates and passports violate individual freedoms.” That last part about mandates is a matter of opinion. The rest is blatantly false. While some breakthrough COVID infections among vaccinated people in the United States, such cases are rare. When they happen, the symptoms tend to be significantly milder than in an unvaccinated person, and the risk of death is much lower.
According to data shared by America’s health agency, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 6587 fully vaccinated people had been hospitalized with COVID or killed by it as of July 26. About 163 million Americans were fully immunized by then. So, to put things in perspective, we are talking about 0.00004 percent of vaccinated people. As the CDC has repeatedly said, over 99 percent of COVID deaths are now among the unvaccinated. So no, the vaccines are not “failing”.
The evidence also shows that, while vaccinated people can probably infect others with the virus, high vaccination rates reduce its spread. This is apparent in the US, where the states with the lowest vaccination rates are experiencing more significant surges in cases and hospitalizations due to the Delta variant. There is also ample evidence that masks help slow the spread of the virus. Here’s the tweet in question. Twitter slapped a warning on it, saying it “may be misleading”, which seems an understatement.
The social media company has locked Ms. Greene’s account for seven days, after which she will be allowed to post again. But a permanent ban could loom, as Twitter has a five “strike” policy for COVID misinformation, and she has already been suspended multiple times. In a statement today, Ms. Greene accused Twitter of censoring her for “speaking the truth”. “I have vaccinated family who are sick with COVID. Studies and news reports show vaccinated people are still getting COVID and spreading COVID,” she said.
