Twitter Permanently Banned MTG Over Her Spread of COVID-19 Disinformation

On Sunday, Twitter permanently banned MTG (Marjorie Taylor Greene) over her spread of COVID-19 disinformation. To date, Marjorie Taylor Greene is the first United States Representative to face a permanent Twitter ban.

Why Twitter Permanently Banned MTG

When Twitter permanently banned MTG, it occurred after more than a year of incidents. Twitter’s COVID-19 Misleading Information Policy cites that “you may not use Twitter’s services to share false or misleading information about COVID-19 which may lead to harm.” On Saturday, one day prior to her ban, Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted out a Twitter thread. The thread regarded public health measures imposed throughout the pandemic. Additionally, it criticized many of the efforts that public health officials declared to be vital in preventing more deaths due to the novel coronavirus (i.e., COVID-19).

In doing so, Marjorie Taylor Greene’s actions represented as the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Alongside two additional members of Congress, Representatives Jim Banks and Barry Moore, Twitter previously suspended Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Twitter account for tweets that the platform considered to be misleading.

Additionally, Twitter suspended her account for a twelve-hour period back in January 2021. Then, Marjorie Taylor Greene created posts that “made false claims about widespread voter fraud in Georgia in both the November election and in the Jan. 5 Senate runoffs.” She also spread additional debunked claims and insulted Georgia election state officials.

Overall, Twitter mentions in its COVID-19 Misleading Information Policy that an account with five or more strikes against it will receive a permanent ban. Having run afoul of the global social media platform time and time again, Marjorie Taylor Greene violated the policy.

Understanding Influence After Twitter Permanently Banned MTG

Through her career as a United States Congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene built up quite the following across Twitter. Before Twitter permanently banned MTG, she accumulated over 465,000 Twitter followers. On YouTube, a user needs 1,000 followers for influencer status.

Instagram requires 5,000, and TikTok mandates 10,000. Securing nearly half a million followers places Marjorie safely in the realm of influencer status. Because of this, her voice (and by proxy) her tweets, reached a widespread audience. As of 2021, a whopping 49% of social media users rely on influencer recommendations. In Marjorie Taylor Greene’s case, she also acts as one of 435 members of the United States House of Representatives. Furthermore, her home state of Georgia features a population of nearly eleven million people.

To date, the world realized well over 5 million deaths attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the coronavirus persists throughout the globe, Twitter explicitly states that “content that is demonstrably false or misleading and may lead to significant risk of harm (such as increased exposure to the virus, or adverse effects on public health systems) may not be shared on Twitter”.

Summary

Heading into 2022, social media platforms continue to battle disinformation. In 2021, 52% of users claimed that they regularly encounter fake news online. To make matters worse, when content aligns with their beliefs, 56% of them can’t different fake news from authentic information.

When over half of all social media users (and potentially more) remain susceptible to inaccurate information, not only does it open the door to fraudulent activity, but it also endangers lives.

When Twitter permanently banned MTG, it made a step in the right direction. However, the battle against disinformation continues to play out both online and in the real world.

To further understand social media best practices, contact the digital marketing specialists at Rizzo Young Marketing.