Twitter Has Permanently Suspended My Account
The *offending* post was not what I expected
Twitter permanently suspended my account on Saturday, simultaneous to locking it over a tweet I posted on April 21, 2022.
“After careful review,” it was determined that I “broke the Twitter rules” — namely, “violating [their] policy on spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19.”
I still have read-only access to my account in the Twitter app, which shows the *offending* tweet is now labeled “Misleading”.
Let’s take a closer look…
The *Offending* Post
The *offending* post is the second in a 2-tweet thread. In the first tweet, I quote-tweeted a thread from the American Academy of Pediatrics, in which the organization advocates continued use toddler-masking until the age 0-4 vaccine receives an EUA.
I shared my distrust of pediatricians as whole, resulting from what I believe many (but not all) have done during the pandemic.
I later added a tweet from Lawyer Mom (@legallymom2) that, in my opinion and based on current data, is an example of a pediatrician’s dishonesty about the risk of Covid infection versus vaccine-induced myocarditis in teen boys. Her post is a QT of Dr. Tracy Hoeg’s excellent overview of a recently-published study on that topic.
As far as I know, neither of these tweets was reported, and both are still posted.
Fourth Strike, You’re Out?
This weekend wasn’t the first time Twitter has censored me. Before permanent suspension, I was “jailed” three times for breaking their *COVID- disinformation rules*. (By “jailed,” I mean temporarily suspended with no ability to post, reply to, or like tweets, but able to chat in direct message.) Each of those those *offending* tweets is pasted below.
I wrote about two of these instances here and here.
Of course, I’m not unique among so-called “Team Reality” Twitterati. Alex Berenson, Naomi Wolf, Justin Hart, Daniel Kotzin, Mark Changizi, El Gato Malo - these are just a few who’ve targeted for removal or punishment since March 2020, over posts about the virus, vaccine, or government’s pandemic-response. We’ve also seen vocal child-advocates like Jennifer Sey and Daniela Jampal lose their jobs over statements they’ve made on Twitter.
Elon Musk’s deal to purchase the micro-blogging platform - and his description of it as a “digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated” - bode well for a shift away from blatant suppression of free speech.
Still, I know better than to put faith in a billionaire.
My Biggest Question
At this point, my biggest question is why a 9-day-old, quote tweet highlighting another mom’s experience with her pediatrician was suddenly reported or noted as a violation of Twitter’s Covid-19 policy. Lawyer Mom’s post is clearly her perspective on what her pediatrician said, which contradicts data on the risks of Covid vaccination versus infection in teen boys. She QT’d Dr. Tracy Hoeg’s thoughtful thread on a relevant study, with a personal testimony.
My guess — and it’s truly a guess — is that something else I tweeted on Saturday morning upset someone with power or position such that either the person, an associate thereof, or a leveraged Twitter employee scrolled through my feed, in search of a post that could be used to lock my account. Since it was my fourth alleged violation, Twitter’s permanent suspension protocol was triggered, which is why the two emails were sent at the same time.
Here are some of the tweets I had posted earlier in the day:
Yet none of these posts - all of which I stand by - was flagged.
If an army of trolls descended on my account and decided to all report the same tweet, with the goal of getting the tweet reviewed, would my QT of Lawyer Mom’s post really be their choice?
I don’t think so.
It’s more likely that something else I posted, either on Saturday or previously, made someone (or a group of someones) nervous. Rather than draw attention to that tweet by making it the grounds for locking the account, another tweet was chosen. To be clear, this is a working hypothesis - not an allegation or statement of fact.
What’s Next?
So, what’s next?
I’ve appealed the suspension, and Twitter has acknowledged it.
At best, they’ve violated their own policy (however misguided the policy is) and made a mistake. At worst, they are actively, unabashedly participating in suppression of free speech - possibly at the behest of government or private-industry actors.
My account may or may not be restored. I’ll continue to post content on this Substack, regardless. And if Substack kicks me off, I’ll try another medium.
Like water, free speech tends to find a way.
You can hear me talk about my permanent suspension with Greg Bishop on his show, Bishop on Air and with Justin Hart on his Rational Ground podcast.
UPDATE: My account was restored.