Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Republican lawmakersRand Paul, a Kentucky senator, andMarjorie Taylor Greene, a U.S. representative from Georgia have been suspended on two separate social media platforms for spreading misinformation about COVID-19.
On Tuesday, YouTube prohibited Paul, 58, from uploading new content to its site for seven days after the Kentucky Republican suggested that masks “don’t work” in combatting the coronavirus in a video posted last week.
“We apply our policies consistently across the platform, regardless of speaker or political views, and we make exceptions for videos that have additional context such as countervailing views from local health authorities,” a representative for YouTube said in a statement, according toThe New York Times.
Senator Rand Paul.Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty Images
In the since-deleted clip, Paul said, “Most of the masks you get over the counter don’t work. They don’t prevent infection.” He later stated that “trying to shape human behavior isn’t the same as following the actual science, which tells us that cloth masks don’t work.”
A company spokesperson said the tweet “was labeled in line with our COVID-19 misleading information policy,” according toCNN. The Georgia Republican’s account has been restricted to read-only mode for the next seven days.
Twitter suspended Greenein January as well for sharing conspiracy theories about the Georgia Senate runoff elections. She was suspended again for 12 hours on July 19 for sharing additional misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccines.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty
In her tweets, Greene falsely claimed on social media that COVID-19 is “not dangerous for non-obese people and those under 65” and likened the vaccine rollout to “human experimentation.” The tweets have since received a tag that reads: “This Tweet is misleading. Learn why health officials recommend a vaccine for most people,” and a link to more verified information.
According toTwitter’s enforcement policyoutlined in March, a 12-hour account lock is the result of two and three strikes. Four strikes justify a weeklong account lock. Five or more strikes trigger a permanent suspension.
Social media isn’t the only place Greene and Paul are sparking criticism with their rhetoric about the virus. Paul has challenged Dr. Anthony Fauci numerous times during Senate hearings about COVID-19.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends vaccinated individuals resume wearing masks in public as coronavirus cases skyrocket across the country. The Delta variant has ravaged the United States in recent weeks and is now the country’s dominant strain,according to data from the agency.
Dr. Anthony Fauci (left) and Sen. Rand Paul.Susan Walsh/AP/Bloomberg via Getty; Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty
In March, when the recommendation was not in place, the Kentucky lawmaker asked Fauci, 80, if it was truly necessary for vaccinated individuals to wear masks in public if they are inoculated.
The nation’s leading infectious disease expert made it clear that face coverings “are not theater.”
“Masks are protective,“Fauci told Paulbefore suggesting the Senator had misunderstood the medical studies he cited in his argument.
“When you talk about reinfection and you don’t keep in the concept of variants, that’s an entirely different ball game,” Fauci said. “That’s a good reason for a mask.”
Paultested positive for COVID-19two days later, becoming the first Senator to do so.
In June, Greene landed in hot water after comparing mask requirements on Capitol Hill to the Holocaust. She later apologized for the remark after visiting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.Erin Scott-Pool/Getty
Greene also is one of three GOP representativessuing House Speaker Nancy Pelosiafter being fined for not wearing their masks for a vote on the House floor shortly after the CDC released guidelines stating “fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing.”
Dr. Brian Monahan, Congress' attending physician, had told lawmakers that “mask requirement and other guidelines remain unchanged until all Members and floor staff are fully vaccinated.”
As of Wednesday, 50.3 percent of the U.S. populace is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 58.9% have received at least one shot.
source: people.com
