Early in the Ivermectin/COVID discussion, I posted on Twitter the best peer-reviewed study I could find supporting Ivermectin for COVID and the best study (peer-reviewed meta-analysis) I could find opposing Ivermectin for COVID. My comment was that it was important to read reputable sources on both sides and reach informed conclusions. That tweet linking to peer-reviewed research was labeled “misinformation”, and my account got my first suspension.
A second tweet (yes, I’m a slow learner—I thought adding good data to that discussion was essential) contained a link to a CDC study at a CDC.gov web address investigating whether Ivermectin worked for COVID. That tweet was also taken down as misinformation, and my account was again suspended, when the only information I added to the link was a brief but accurate summary of the study. Again, this reputable link was labeled “misinformation”.
I appealed both suspensions and lost both times. I would have put money down that my appeals would win, back when I assumed these decisions would be thoughtful and fact-based. And, yes, I would have been willing to take Twitter to court over censoring peer-reviewed research and censoring links to CDC studies, if I could find a lawyer and a legal basis. Those lawsuits would be negative for Twitter. Adding financial harm to the personal offense taken over them censoring fact-based posts would also be a strong negative. I don’t think their content moderation team is competent enough that Twitter can afford to raise the stakes.
Early in the Ivermectin/COVID discussion, I posted on Twitter the best peer-reviewed study I could find supporting Ivermectin for COVID and the best study (peer-reviewed meta-analysis) I could find opposing Ivermectin for COVID. My comment was that it was important to read reputable sources on both sides and reach informed conclusions. That tweet linking to peer-reviewed research was labeled “misinformation”, and my account got my first suspension.
A second tweet (yes, I’m a slow learner—I thought adding good data to that discussion was essential) contained a link to a CDC study at a CDC.gov web address investigating whether Ivermectin worked for COVID. That tweet was also taken down as misinformation, and my account was again suspended, when the only information I added to the link was a brief but accurate summary of the study. Again, this reputable link was labeled “misinformation”.
I appealed both suspensions and lost both times. I would have put money down that my appeals would win, back when I assumed these decisions would be thoughtful and fact-based. And, yes, I would have been willing to take Twitter to court over censoring peer-reviewed research and censoring links to CDC studies, if I could find a lawyer and a legal basis. Those lawsuits would be negative for Twitter. Adding financial harm to the personal offense taken over them censoring fact-based posts would also be a strong negative. I don’t think their content moderation team is competent enough that Twitter can afford to raise the stakes.