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YouTube has suspended Sen. Rand Paul for seven days after his account posted a video claiming that face masks are not effective in stopping the transmission of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
“We removed content from Senator Paul’s channel for including claims that masks are ineffective in preventing the contraction or transmission of COVID-19, in accordance with our COVID-19 medical misinformation policies,” YouTube said in a statement. “We apply our policies consistently across the platform, regardless of speaker or political views.”
The Kentucky Repubican tweeted Tuesday that the suspension from Alphabet’s
GOOGL,
video-sharing platform was “a badge of honor.
“Leftwing cretins at Youtube [sic] banning me for 7 days for a video that quotes 2 peer reviewed articles saying cloth masks don’t work,” he wrote.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and countless experts have repeatedly said that face masks are effective protection against the COVID-19 virus.
Indeed, some masks are better than others, and as the delta variant continues to spread, having a proper face covering is essential to slow transmission of the virus. The CDC recommends surgical masks or cotton masks made with a tightly woven fabric, or masks with two to three layers. Masks should also properly fit the face, and leave no gaps.
A refresher: This is the biggest mistake people make while wearing a face mask
Paul isn’t alone in his big tech suspension for spreading misinformation related to COVID-19. Rep. Marjory Tayler Greene is just one strike away from being permanently banned from Twitter.
Twitter
TWTR,
put the Georgia Republican’s account was on “read-only” mode for a week on Tuesday after Greene tweeted that the Food and Drug Administration should not give full approval to the COVID-19 vaccines currently being administered because they were “failing” at stopping the virus’ spread.
In fact, the vaccines have been effective in combating COVID-19. A Mayo Clinic study from earlier this year found both Pfizer’s
PFE,
and Moderna’s
MRNA,
vaccines to be 88.7% effective in stopping the virus. And those who received the vaccine and still get sick with breakthrough infections have much lower hospitalization rates than unvaccinated people who contract the coronavirus.
Read more: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene suspended again from Twitter; ban looms
Twitter put a new strike system in place earlier this year in an attempt to crack down on COVID-19 misinformation. This was Greene’s fourth strike; so according to Twitter policy, a fifth one will result in her permanent suspension.
YouTube has an even stricter strike policy. Three strikes in a 90-day period will result in a channel being permanently removed from YouTube.
