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Why did Twitter suspend Naomi Wolf's account? Internet jokes author was banned for 'being too stupid'

'So long Dr Naomi Wolf, Twitter will miss your… unique insights,' joked a user

Journalist and author Naomi Wolf has been suspended from Twitter and will no longer be allowed back on the platform after spewing misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccines. Reportedly, she's been at it for months, but it is only on Friday, June 4, that the social media giant decided to act.

Misinformation on social media has been a major challenge for governments, media outlets, and networks themselves. Back in May 2020, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced the introduction of 'labels' to censor false information. Eventually, the company turned to permanent bans to combat the problem, with the most high-profile example being Trump. Since his suspension, Washington Post estimated that election-related misinformation dropped by 73%. 

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The tactic seems to be working so well, that the company has begun rolling it out more frequently. Wolf is now the latest to be banned, thanks to her staunch anti-vaccine stance. In May, she testified in front of the House Oversight Committee and said vaccine passports, "is to recreate a situation that is very familiar to me as a student of history. This has been the start of many, many genocides." 

Wolf's anti-vaccine rhetoric

Wolf's Twitter account was filled with strange claims, that many have mocked her for. She once called vaccines "a software platform that can receive uploads". She was also once trolled into sharing an image of pornographic actor Johnny Sins. In March 2021, journalist and serial troller Ken Klippenstein sent Wolf an image of Sins as a doctor, with a fake quote. She promptly uploaded that image on Twitter, much to many people's delight. 

In February 2021, she tweeted that "the best way to show respect for healthcare workers if you are healthy and under 65 is to socialize sensibly and expose yourself to a low viral load." Another time, she was trolled for misquoting Apple's TimeMachine technology as a way for vaccines to be injected. On June 4, in what appears to be her last tweet, Wolf tweeted, "it seems urgent for public health to separate vaccinated people's urine/feces from general sewage supplies/waterways til studies are done of how mrna in sewage, drinking water will affect all. The ad campaign tried to make unvaccinated "toxic" to others but maybe reverse is true."

Sometime after, Wolf appears to have been booted off. One user noted, "Thanks, @Twitter, for finally suspending Naomi Wolf for spreading harmful and floridly delusional anti-vax disinformation. (Was this the tweet that pushed Twitter over the edge?)". 

'Twitter finally suspended that crackpot'

It didn't take long for news of Wolf's suspension to make its way through the Twitterverse. "I can’t believe Naomi Wolf author of The Beauty Myth got banned for poopoo segregation," noted one user. Another said, "LOOOOL... Never forget. Naomi Wolf's suspension could not have come any sooner." Another joked, "congratulations to naomi wolf who is i think the first person to be banned from here for being too stupid."

"Haha Twitter finally suspended that crackpot Naomi Wolf!" joked one person. Another said, "Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because another nutty anti-vaxxer has been deplatformed." Others also took to resharing some of Wolf's past tweets. "Before she left, Naomi Wolf left us with one of the funniest tweets in the history of this garbage site," one person shared. Another tweeted, "Before she was banned, Naomi Wolf gave us the funniest tweet on Northern Ireland's history." Another said, "So long Dr Naomi Wolf, Twitter will miss your… unique insights."

Some conservatives though, aren't too happy with Wolf's ban. They've called for her account to be reinstated, but it is unlikely that will happen. People suspended from Twitter are usually suspended for life, and cannot appeal their bans, unlike Facebook.