Donald Trump Jr.’s Twitter account was temporarily restricted after he posted a viral video filled with misinformation about COVID-19. The video, which was originally published on Breitbart News, featured a group of “America’s Frontline Doctors” claiming “This virus has a cure, it’s called hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and Zithromax, … You don’t need masks, there is a cure.” Both claims are demonstrably false: those drugs don’t cure or prevent the coronavirus, and masks have been repeatedly proven to be effective in fighting the spread of the virus.
This account has not been permanently suspended. Per the screenshot, the Tweet requires deletion because it violates our rules (sharing misinformation on COVID-19), and the account will have limited functionality for 12 hours. More in our rules: https://t.co/0wHWVV5QS4 https://t.co/0gq7rlaNw7
— Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) July 28, 2020
Both the president and his son have retweeted the video, which went viral on Facebook and YouTube before it was removed from both sites for promoting misinformation. Twitter is also working to remove the video, with a Twitter spokesperson saying, “We’re taking action in line with our Covid misinfo policy.”
The #2 most-engaged post on Facebook today is a Breitbart video of a group of doctors claiming that hydroxychloroquine is “a cure for Covid” and “you don’t need a mask.”
14 million views in 6 hours. (For scale, Plandemic got ~8 million in a few days.)
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) July 28, 2020
As a result, Twitter limited Don Jr.’s account and banned him from tweeting for 12 hours. As you can probably guess, the White House did not take this well, and Trump’s spokesperson Andrew Surabian quickly issued a response:
BREAKING: @Twitter & @jack have suspended @DonaldJTrumpJr for posting a viral video of medical doctors talking about Hydroxychloroquine.
Big Tech is the biggest threat to free expression in America today & they’re continuing to engage in open election interference – full stop. pic.twitter.com/7dJbauq43O
— Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) July 28, 2020
Surabian also released a statement saying “It is beyond the pale for Twitter to silence someone for sharing the views of medical professionals who happen to dissent with their anti-Hydroxychloroquine narrative.”
President Trump also retweeted the video, but his account wasn’t penalized. A Twitter spokesperson said, “The President did not Tweet the video in question, he Retweeted it. Therefore, the account owner of the Tweet he Retweeted will face enforcement action.”
One of the doctors in the video, Stella Immanuel, has also claimed that many medical issues are the result of people having dream sex with demons and witches so yeah, she’s probably not an accurate source for medical advice.
It all amounts to the willful spread of dangerous and false information about the pandemic that has killed over 150,000 Americans. The Trumps have always lied about everything, but to do so in the face of a devastating virus is wildly irresponsible and unhinged. If the Trump family earned a dollar for every lie they told the public, they would legitimately be the billionaires the pretend to be.
Many took to Twitter to lambast Don Jr. and his father for their dangerous behavior:
BREAKING: Donald Trump Jr’s Twitter account has been suspended for 12 hours. And the world is a better place for now.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) July 28, 2020
Donald Jr thrown off Twitter for 12 hours for tweeting a Breitbart conspiracy theory video.
Why wasn’t Trump thrown off for doing same?
— Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) July 28, 2020
Demon sperm was trending, so naturally I thought it had something to do with Donald trump Jr.
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) July 28, 2020
Donald Trump Jr’s Twitter account has been suspended for 12 hours. This is the best news I’ve heard all day. 🤣🤣🤣
— Leona Lioness (@LeonaLioness6) July 28, 2020
(via CNN, image: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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