She was banned for spreading misinformation
On November 6, Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor-Greene took to Twitter (using her official account) to publish a 14-part thread in which she complained how not having a personal account had hindered her in campaigning and political fundraising.
Her personal account was blocked and banned by Twitter at the start of 2022 after she repeatedly ignored warnings and used her account to spread misinformation, most notably about the pandemic.
While MTG apparently feels victimized by Twitter, it would seem she was more than happy to repeated flout their warnings for breaching the terms of use, ultimately leading to a permanent ban.
It doesn't seem to have harmed her fundraising
In spite of her complaint in the Twitter thread that her Democratic challenger Marcus Flowers has been able to raise $15m compared to her $12.5 million, MTG doesn't seem to feel threatened that she may be unseated by him. On November 3, instead of campaigning for herself in Georgia, she attended a 'Save America' rally with Donald Trump in Iowa.
Data suggests that her battle with Democrat Marcus Flowers has been one of the most expensive campaigns fought over a house seat in Georgia. MTG has spent over $10 million campaigning to defend her seat, while Flowers has spent even more - over $14 million - trying to unseat her. The sums of money involved perhaps suggest how much fighting there is to secure a change of representatives (or to defend MTG as an incumbent).
MTG uses her official account to court controversy too
That her personal Twitter account has been permanently banned doesn't seem to prevent Taylor-Greene from stirring up controversy using her official account.
In recent weeks, she's taken up the cause of Infowars broadcaster Alex Jones, defending his freedom of speech after courts fined him almost $1 billion for his comments over the Sandy Hook mass-shooting.
What may happen with Twitter being bought by Elon Musk?
In recent weeks, MTG has also been hotly rumored to be a favored candidate to run alongside the former one-term Republican President Donald Trump if he were to declare himself in the running for the White House in 2024.
The prospect of a Trump/Taylor-Greene is something that fills many with dread, but there's certainly a lot of similarity between how the two conduct themselves on social media. Trump was banned from Twitter and other social media platforms after the January 6 insurrection.
Both may be hoping that with Elon Musk taking over Twitter and promising to bring back unrestricted freedom of speech, that their bans are removed. Only time will tell if that prospect comes to fruition.
Do you think that politicians and public figures like Marjorie Taylor-Greene should be guaranteed access to social media platforms like Twitter, regardless of how they conduct themselves? Do you think that the bans they've earned are well-deserved? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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