Twitter bans Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene

Outspoken Donald Trump supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene is the latest public figure to be banned by Twitter for violations of its Covid-19 misinformation policy.

Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene leaves her office on Capitol Hill earlier this year. Picture: AFP

Twitter has permanently suspended Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene as part of a growing campaign by the social media giant to remove accounts that violate its Covid-19 misinformation policy.

Ms Taylor Greene, a vocal Donald Trump supporter who had 485,000 Twitter followers, was suspended following four “strikes”, including for a claim that Covid-19 was not dangerous for people unless they were obese or over 65 and, separately, that the Covid-19 vaccines were “failing”.

The final straw came New Year’s Day, when she tweeted a chart based on the US government’s vaccine side effects data base, known as VAERS, arguing it showed an “extremely high number of Covid-19 vaccine deaths”, a claim authorities dispute.

Ms Taylor Greene, who won Georgia’s 14th Congressional district with 75 per cent of the primary vote in 2020, slammed Twitter on rival social messaging service Telegram. “Twitter is an enemy to America and can’t handle the truth. That’s fine, I’ll show America we don’t need them,” she said.

Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks during a press conference outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC earlier this year. Picture: AFP

The firebrand 47-year old Congresswoman has been a prominent target for Democrats, and an embarrassment to some Republicans, for her strong backing of Donald Trump and supportive statements about far-right conspiracy organisation QAnon.

“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 Twitter spokeswoman, said in a statement.

The suspension divided high-profile journalists and politicians.

“Having unelected tech oligarchs ban duly elected members of Congress – or even the sitting President – from using their massive platforms is dystopian,” said Glenn Greenwald, a US journalist with 1.7 million Twitter followers.

Democrat Congressman Jamaal Bowman, representing a New York district, said Ms Greene should also be expelled from Congress. “We expelled 14 Members in 1861 for supporting the confederacy. Why does Marjorie Taylor Greene still have her seat?” he said.

Having unelected tech oligarchs ban duly elected members of Congress - or even the sitting President - from using their massive platforms is dystopian. Remember how many world leaders warned that FB & Twitter's banning of Trump was a threat to democracy.https://t.co/zIT7l04hMWhttps://t.co/2BPFrgeZXv

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 2, 2022

In March last year, Twitter said it would warn and ultimately remove accounts that put “individuals, families and communities at risk”, unveiling a new Covid-19 information policy.

“This includes sharing content that may mislead people about the nature of the Covid-19 virus; the efficacy and/or safety of preventive measures, treatments, or other precautions; … or the prevalence of the virus or risk of infection or death associated with Covid-19,” the company said.

Twitter, whose founder Jack Dorsey left the company in December, controversially suspended or removed former President Donald Trump, former New York Times journalist Alex Berenson, feminist author Naomi Wolff and scientists including Robert Malone and Martin Kulldorff.

“I wanted to post a tweet about masks on children, but will refrain. Previously censored by Twitter, I need to be careful to avoid suspension,” Mr Kulldorff, the former professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, tweeted in August.

I wanted to post a tweet about masks on children, but will refrain. Previously censored by Twitter, I need to be careful to avoid suspension. https://t.co/gBQ2sUhQgp

— Martin Kulldorff (@MartinKulldorff) August 29, 2021

The trend toward censorship has fuelled debate about the relationship between constitutionally protected free speech in the US and the rights of the big tech platforms, which are shielded by US laws from legal responsibility for the content they publish.

Congress introduced six bipartisan bills in late June aimed at reining in the power of the major tech platforms, including plans to prevent future mergers, beef-up regulatory agencies and potentially break up the businesses.