Donald Trump Jr. gets locked out of Twitter for sharing COVID-19 misinformation video
Twitter is giving Donald Trump Jr. a time-out.
Republican strategist Andrew Surabian on Tuesday said Twitter had limited the account of the president's son, sharing a message from Twitter which says he violated the platform's "policy on spreading misleading and potentially harmful misinformation related to COVID-19." Trump Jr. won't be able to tweet or retweet anything for 12 hours, the message said, though he can still browse Twitter and use direct messages.
This comes after Trump Jr. shared a viral video in which a doctor falsely claims there's already a "cure" for COVID-19 which involves taking hydroxychloroquine. In fact, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, noted Tuesday that clinical trials have indicated that hydroxychloroquine is "not effective in coronavirus disease."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A spokesperson for Twitter confirmed to Vice it had taken action against Trump Jr. but characterized this as a "temporary lockout until the Tweet is deleted — not a suspension."
Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter have removed the viral video, in which the doctor also claims "you don't need masks" amid the COVID-19 pandemic despite health officials and the CDC repeatedly urging their use. President Trump shared the video on Monday. A spokesperson told The Washington Post that "tweets with the video are in violation of our COVID-19 misinformation policy."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
'Epic meltdown'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
The World of Tim Burton: a 'creepy, witty and visually ravishing' exhibition
The Week Recommends Sprawling show at the Design Museum features over 600 exhibits from across the directors' five-decade career from early sketches to costumes and props
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: October 31, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
McDonald's sued over E. coli linked to burger
Speed Read The outbreak has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states and left one dead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Seattle Children's Hospital sues Texas over 'sham' demand for transgender medical records
Speed Read Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton subpoenaed records of any Texan who received gender-affirming care at the Washington hospital
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Afghanistan has a growing female suicide problem
Speed Read The Taliban has steadily whittled away women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan over the past 2 years, prompting a surge in depression and suicide
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US life expectancy rose in 2022 but not to pre-pandemic levels
Speed Read Life expectancy is slowly crawling back up
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Vallance diaries: Boris Johnson 'bamboozled' by Covid science
Speed Read Then PM struggled to get his head around key terms and stats, chief scientific advisor claims
By The Week UK Published