Donald Trump Jr. speaks on stage during the 2020 CPAC in National Harbor, Maryland.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Twitter on Tuesday temporarily limited Donald Trump Jr.’s account after he shared a viral video touting the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the coronavirus. Multiple studies have found that the anti-malarial drug is not useful for preventing or treating COVID-19. Twitter said the tweet violated its policy against spreading misleading and potentially harmful information on COVID-19.
“The Tweet requires deletion because it violates our rules (sharing misinformation on COVID-19), and the account will have limited functionality for 12 hours,” Twitter’s communications team said on Tuesday.
This account has not been permanently suspended. Per the screenshot, the Tweet requires deletion because it violates our rules (sharing misinformation on COVID-19), and the account will have limited functionality for 12 hours. More in our rules: https://t.co/0wHWVV5QS4 https://t.co/0gq7rlaNw7
— Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) July 28, 2020
Trump Jr., the son of US President Donald Trump, shared the viral video on Monday along with a tweet that read: “This is a much [sic] watch!!! So different from the narrative that everyone is running with.”
In addition to the tweet being deleted, Twitter limited Trump Jr.’s account so he can only send direct messages to followers — that means not tweets, retweets, follows or likes. The restrictions are in place for 12 hours.
A representative for Trump Jr. couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, but spokesman Andy Surabian on Tuesday tweeted that “Big Tech is the biggest threat to free expression in America today,” adding that “they’re continuing to engage in open election interference – full stop.”
