Twitter released a policy stating that it would restrict and remove content that would “place people at a higher risk of transmitting COVID-19.” But while some articles are left up, other articles from conservative outlets receive the banhammer. 

Conservative news outlet The Federalist was locked out of its Twitter account on March 26, 2020 for a piece that was written by dermatologist Douglas A. Perednia. The Federalist removed the tweet from its Twitter account in compliance with the request from Twitter. However, multiple pieces of fake news from both Chinese accounts and liberal media outlets remain up on Twitter. 

A Chinese conspiracy theory that the coronavirus originated in the United States has been allowed to circulate on Twitter. Spokesperson & Deputy Director-General, Information Department, Foreign Ministry of China Lijian Zhao has tweeted that “It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan.”

Furthermore, a misleading headline accusing President Trump of giving out medical advice that could kill people has been allowed to remain on Twitter. Pieces from the Daily Mail and the Cut conveniently avoid the fact that a couple that poisoned themselves used fish tank cleaner, not actual medicine. 

The piece from the Federalist was introduced on Twitter with the caption “time to think outside the box.” It did not disagree with the current method of avoiding the virus, but offered a third potential strategy: controlled voluntary infection (CVI). 

Perednia wrote, “CVI involves allowing people at low risk for severe complications to deliberately contract COVID-19 in a socially and medically responsible way so they become immune to the disease. People who are immune cannot pass on the disease to others.”

A Twitter spokesperson told the Media Research Center, “The account was temporarily locked for violating the Twitter Rules regarding COVID-19.”