Topline
Twitter restricted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) Congressional account for seven days after she repeatedly shared an image referring to a “Trans Day of Vengeance,” she tweeted, a move that comes after many right-wing lawmakers have attempted to draw attention to the gender identity of the suspect who carried out a mass shooting in Nashville.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., speaks on the second day of the Conservative Political Action … [+]
Key Facts
Greene disclosed the suspension in a tweet from her personal handle—which remains active—saying she was suspended for “exposing Antifa’s plan for violence.”
In her tweet, Greene tagged Elon Musk and pointed out that the suspension of her account “for warning the American people of political violence planned at the Supreme Court” contradicts earlier remarks made by Ella Irwin, Twitter’s trust and safety head.
Irwin previously said the platform had taken down more than 5,000 tweets featuring the same image shared by Greene as the term “Vengeance” did not “imply peaceful protest.”
In a follow-up tweet, Irwin claimed that Twitter did not “strike” accounts sharing the image but simply restricted the piece of media from being shared.
It’s unclear if the action against Greene’s account has anything to do with her repeatedly posting the restricted image.
Key Background
Tuesday’s suspension is not Greene’s first run-in with Twitter’s policies. The lawmaker’s personal handle was permanently banned last year after it was repeatedly flagged for posting misinformation about Covid-19. The @mtgreenee account was eventually restored late last year along with a string of other controversial banned accounts after Elon Musk took over Twitter. Under Musk, Twitter has taken a laxer approach to misinformation and hateful content, with the company even disbanding its Trust and Safety Council.
Tangent
Six people, including three children, were killed in a mass shooting at a school in Nashville earlier this week. The suspected shooter, 28-year-old Audrey Hale, purportedly identified as trans and used male pronouns on social media. Some figures on the right, including Greene and Fox News Host Tucker Carlson, have latched on to Hale’s gender identity to spread a narrative of an act of violence pushed by the “trans movement,” driving the debate away from gun control measures. Critics of the right’s rhetoric have pointed out that transgender people are far more likely to be victims of violent crime, including gun violence than cisgender people.
Further Reading
Twitter cites rules against violent speech in restricting Marjorie Taylor Greene’s account (NBC News)
Tucker Carlson Spews Truly Evil Trash About Trans People In ‘Christianity’ Rant (Huffington Post)
