For the second time in three days, Silicon Valley giant Twitter has locked The Tennessee Star out of its account for posting a factual story.
The temporary ban comes less than a day after The Star’s account was unlocked. After its account was unlocked Sunday, The Star reposted the story that caused the account to be locked in the first place.
The story in question involved Governor Bill Lee’s signing of SB 2188, which says that Ivermectin, and anti-parasitic drug, shall be made available over-the-counter, “pursuant to a valid collaborative pharmacy practice agreement containing a non-patient-specific prescriptive order and standardized procedures developed and executed by one or more authorized prescribers.”
It is a factual story about the signage of a bill, not about the merits of Ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19.
The Star reported Saturday:
One automated message said the account would be locked until afternoon on Saturday.
‘As a result, we’ve added a label to the above Tweet(s) and temporarily limited some of your account features,’ Twitter said. ‘While in this state, you can still browse Twitter, but you’re limited to only sending Direct Messages to your followers — no Tweets, Retweets, follows or likes.’
Another automated message said the account was suspended for a week.
‘After careful review, we determined your account broke the Twitter Rules,’ that message said. ‘Your account is temporarily in read-only mode, which means you can’t Tweet, Retweet, or Like content. Most accounts regain full access in a week, but it could take longer.’
The Star received the same automated messages Monday.
The first message noted that The Star would be locked out of its account for about 12 hours. Along with that message, Twitter says The Star broke its rules about COVID-19 misinformation.
The second image notified The Star that its account was locked, and that it would be unlocked in a week.
Whether the account is locked for a week or for 12 hours remains to be seen.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
