Topline
Twitter on Monday reinstated the personal account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who was banned on the platform in January for violating the platform’s rules on misinformation about Covid-19, shortly after new owner Elon Musk reinstated the accounts of former President Donald Trump and several other controversial figures.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks at a press conference on US funding for Ukraine … [+]
Key Facts
While Greene’s government account, @RepMGT, has remained active, her personal account, @MTGreene, was “permanently suspended” at the start of this year for repeatedly violating Twitter’s Covid-19 information policies.
Twitter used a five-strike system at the time, and Greene was warned each time she violated the policy before her account was taken down.
On her government account Monday, Greene posted that Twitter “violated my freedom of speech and ability to campaign & fundraise crying ‘covid misinformation,’” and let her followers know her personal profile has since been revived.
She has not yet tweeted from the personal account.
Key Background
Musk acquired Twitter last month, and has reversed some of the platform’s high-profile moderation decisions. Musk took a poll on Twitter this weekend asking if he should reinstate Trump on the site. Trump was permanently suspended on the platform shortly after the insurrection on January 6, 2021, at the risk he could incite more violence with his posts. While Trump’s account is now visible again, the once-active tweeter said he doesn’t “see any reason” to come back. Trump started Truth Social, a competing conservative social media platform, after being blocked from Twitter. Figures including Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson and Kanye West have also had their accounts reinstated.
Surprising Fact
There is one controversial tweeter who Musk likely won’t be bringing back online: Far-right personality and InfoWars head Alex Jones, who was banned in 2018 for violating Twitter’s policy against abusive behavior. Musk said he has “no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame”—likely referring to conspiracy theories repeatedly spread by Jones about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Further Reading
Twitter Permanently Bans Marjorie Taylor Greene For Repeated Covid-19 Misinformation (Forbes)
Elon Musk Reinstates Donald Trump’s Twitter Account After Asking Users To Vote (Forbes)
Elon Musk Draws The Line At Alex Jones After Reinstating Trump On Twitter
(Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/11/21/twitter-reinstates-rep-marjorie-taylor-greenes-personal-account-after-bringing-back-trump/