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Why did Twitter ban Marjorie Taylor Greene? Trolls say 'Bye Marjorie'

Marjorie Taylor Greene said, 'Twitter is an enemy to America and can’t handle the truth'

Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene was handed a harsh dose of reality by Twitter on January 2, with her personal account being permanently suspended. She will still have access to her official Twitter account @RepMTG, which she rarely uses. Almost instantly, Twitter users burst in joy at the news, even creating the hashtag #ByeMarjorie to celebrate Greene's booting. 

Greene becomes the latest high-profile individual to be banned from Twitter, joining the ranks of former President Donald Trump, author Naomi Wolf, and activist Laura Loomer. Despite Republicans' repeated complaints, the company has refused to reinstate the accounts of those suspended, prompting many to migrate to alternatives like Parler and Gettr. Nonetheless, Twitter remains a vital tool for the GOP, given the alternatives only attract extreme right-wing users, thus limiting their reach and efficiency. 

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Greene responded to the ban by saying, "Social media platforms can’t stop the truth from being spread far and wide. Big Tech can’t stop the truth. Communist Democrats can’t stop the truth." She added, "Twitter is an enemy to America and can’t handle the truth. That's fine, I’ll show America we don’t need them and it’s time to defeat our enemies." The statement was made via Telegram, the encrypted messaging app that's also become insanely popular with the far-right.

Why was Greene banned?

Ever since she joined Congress, Greene has been known to use her @mtgreene account to espouse wild conspiracy theories. She's ramped up those claims since the start of the pandemic, prompting Twitter to temporarily suspend her account on several occasions. Back in August 2020, she was suspended for saying the vaccines were "failing" to stop Covid and should not have been approved. Before that in July, she also got a "strike" for saying Covid wasn't "dangerous", coming after her second strike in January for tweeting about vote fraud days after the January 6 insurrection.

Her ban on January 2, 2022, marks her fifth strike, and clearly for Twitter the final one. So what did she say? The Daily Mail was able to archive her tweets before they were removed, and it appears once again, Greene has spread misinformation about Covid-19. Greene put out a thread of life before and after Covid, saying things like "healthy employees are fired, not based on job performance, but vax status" and "doctors are refusing to treat sick or injured people if they aren't Covid vaxxed violating their Hippocratic oath" after the pandemic began. The long thread contains several such misleading statements, which clearly grabbed the attention of Twitter's team. 

In a statement from her office, Greene said she was suspended for citing numbers from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), but Twitter hit back saying, "We permanently suspended @mtrgreene for repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy." 

'Twitter > Congress'

The net erupted in joy at the news, with one Twitter user saying, "Okay I have a feeling 2022 is going to be our year." Another joked, "It may be a happy new year after all. #ByeMarjorie u muppet." Journalist Tara Dublin joked, "As far as I’m concerned, that screenshot is High Art."

"If only the government had the standards Twitter does for its members…" one user lamented. In a similar vein, another reacted, "Twitter > Congress." One user mocked Greene, "Thank you @Twitter for quarantining US from misinformation & disinformation. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out Marge, just get vaccinated already." One person asked, "Will “Bye Marjorie” be the new “Bye Felicia”?"

Unlike Facebook, Twitter does not have an appeal process for those booted, so it seems Greene's ban is permanent. Greene has also used her official Twitter and Facebook accounts to spread misinformation, particularly around the January 6 coup, but not as frequently as her personal account. Like many on the far-right, Greene is expected to migrate to Parler, Getter, or any of the other alternatives to continue pushing her conspiracy theories.