Facebook suspends Marjorie Taylor Greene's account for a day
It's a slap on the wrist, compared to Twitter's permanent ban.
Marjorie Taylor Greene says she also lost access to Facebook, a day after Twitter banned her personal account. Unlike Twitter's suspension, which is permanent, Facebook's penalty will only last for 24 hours. According to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NBC News and other sources, Greene shared a screenshot on Telegram and Gettr (a social media platform for conservatives) showing a Facebook notification telling her that can't post or comment on the website for 24 hours.
A spokesperson has confirmed to the publications that the social network removed one of her posts for violating its policies, but that "removing her account for this violation is beyond the scope of [its] policies." In particular, her post violated the Meta-owned platform's COVID-19 misinformation rules. It's worth noting that Facebook and Twitter have only suspended her personal accounts. Her verified government accounts remain active.
Greene reportedly posted about "extremely high amounts of COVID vaccine deaths" with unverified raw data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS. The system is a government database managed by the CDC and the FDA, but it relies on individuals to send in reports of their experience. VAERS' website states that it's "not designed to determine if a vaccine caused a health problem" and that "additional work and evaluation [of its data] is necessary to further assess a possible safety concern." Facebook started taking a tougher stance against misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and vaccines in general in early 2021.
Greene is known for questioning the public health measures put into place to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. In addition to opposing vaccine mandates, she also famously refuses to wear a mask on the House floor and has racked up tens of thousands of dollars in fines. Talking about her Facebook suspension on Telegram and Gettr, Greene wrote:
"Facebook has joined Twitter in censoring me... Who appointed Twitter and Facebook to be the authorities of information and misinformation? When Big Tech decides what political speech of elected Members is accepted and what’s not then they are working against our government and against the interest of our people."
Conservative politicians have long complained about being censored by the biggest social media platforms. Back in October, former President Donald Trump announced that he's planning to launch his own social network this year as part of his camp's efforts to fight back against "the Big Tech companies of Silicon Valley, which have used their unilateral power to silence opposing voices in America."
