Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican U.S. representative who is part of the GOP’s anti-vax wing, was suspended by Twitter for one week after she posted a tweet that said the FDA should not approve COVID-19 vaccines and that the vaccines were “failing.”
On Monday, Greene had written in a tweet, “The FDA should not approve the covid vaccines. There are too many reports of infection & spread of #COVID19 among vaccinated people. These vaccines are failing & do not reduce the spread of the virus & neither do masks. Vaccine mandates & passports violate individual freedoms.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccine effectiveness studies “provide a growing body of evidence” that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of COVID-19 — including severe illness — by 90% or more among people who are fully vaccinated.
Twitter added a label to Greene’s Aug. 9 tweet that said, “This Tweet may be misleading. Get the latest on preventative measures and COVID-19.” The social network instituted a seven-day suspension of her account because of repeated violations of Twitter’s rules, according to a company rep. It is Greene’s fourth violation, and if she runs afoul of Twitter’s policies against misinformation again she may be permanently banned.
On July 19, Twitter had frozen Greene’s account for 12 hours after she falsely tweeted that the coronavirus was only dangerous for people who are obese or over 65. In January, Twitter suspended her account temporarily for spreading conspiracy theories about supposed voter fraud during the 2020 election.
Greene, in a statement Tuesday that was posted to Gettr (which was launched earlier this year by an ex-Trump spokesman) and Telegram, said in part: “I have vaccinated family who are sick with Covid. Studies and news reports show vaccinated people are still getting Covid and spreading Covid… In my opinion, the FDA should not approve these vaccines until more research is done. But Twitter suspended me for speaking the truth, and tweeting what so many people are saying.”
Greene was elected last year to the U.S. House of Representatives in Georgia’s 14th congressional district. She has voiced support for a range of conspiracy theories including the bizarre pro-Trump QAnon movement, which the FBI has called a domestic terror group. After she was elected, she distanced herself from QAnon.
In February, Greene was removed of her House committee assignments, in a vote largely along party lines, following comments she had made calling for the execution of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats as well as repeatedly spreading conspiracy theories.
