Kevin McCarthy slams Twitter following Marjorie Taylor Greene ban


House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) slammed Twitter for its decision to ban controversial Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) over posting misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Twitter decided to “permanently suspend” her personal account on Sunday, citing “repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy.” Greene — who had posted that vaccines were “failing” in her post — retains access to her professional account. McCarthy argued that 

While the California Republican did not directly name the firebrand conservative in his statement, he accused the social media platform of silencing Americans including “including a sitting member of Congress and renowned physicians.”

He added that he feels “big tech” is infringing on free speech, alleging that Twitter’s disciplinary actions impact Republicans more than Democrats. 

Marjorie Taylor Greene
Twitter’s decision to ban Greene comes after she violated their policy four times.
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“Their recent decisions to silence Americans — including a sitting member of Congress and renowned physicians — who share views different from the political and media elite have real world costs. In fact, as we get more information on the virus it is clear many of the views once demonized by technology companies and the political elite are turning out to be true,” he said in a statement. 

“The doctrines of lockdowns, school closures, and the threat of covid-19 illness according to age groups and previous infection are currently being reversed. On the other end of the spectrum, Americans on the political left, including popular cable news hosts, members of Congress, and even the Vice President, have themselves made public comments that are now universally understood to be false. Yet, they face no repercussions from the gatekeepers of America’s town square.”

McCarthy argued that the decision to ban Greene — who also faced a 24-hour suspension of her Facebook account on Monday after making similar posts, including falsely indicating there have been an “extremely high amounts of Covid vaccine deaths” — from the platform demonstrates why Congress should act on legislation to address Section 230. 

Marjorie Taylor Greene
Marjorie Taylor Greene also faced a 24-hour suspension on her Facebook account.
Getty Images

Big Tech platforms should not be allowed to use the shield of Section 230, which was designed to foster an open internet, to censor first amendment protected free speech. House Republicans will be ready to take action that protects Americans when they express their constitutionally safeguarded views, just like we have laws on the books today that prohibits discrimination by corporations in many other contexts,” he continued. “The American experiment is dependent on the freedom and ability of Americans to express themselves, which Republicans are fighting to preserve.”

Twitter’s decision comes after Greene violated their policy four times in the past before they opted to cut off access to her account, having last suspended her from the platform in August. 

While McCarthy and a handful of conservatives came to her defense, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) blasted Greene, alleging that is she is attempting to play the victim for political gain. 

“That Marjorie scoffed at the notion of supporting anti-censorship legislation is indicative of her true intent: to remain a victim,’ Crenshaw said on Instagram. “She doesn’t want solutions and she doesn’t care if you get censored. She just wants to keep being a victim so she can ask you for campaign donations. It’s a scam.’ 

Crenshaw and Greene have repeatedly sparred, with Crenshaw arguing that Greene is “a Democrat” or “an idiot” for her criticisms of his suggestion that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should play a role in expanding coronavirus testing. 

“Hey, Marjorie, if suggesting we should follow Trump policy instead of Biden mandates makes you mad, then you might be a Democrat—or just an idiot,” he said.