Don Jr. Throttled by Twitter After Sharing Doctors’ Opinions on COVID Treatment

The sheer amount of vitriol that has been passed around online regarding the global coronavirus pandemic can be maddening.

It seems that, for every opinion that you hear about the virus, there is another equally vociferous, yet opposite opinion to be found somewhere online.  Some say that masks don’t work to prevent the spread of COVID-19, while others swear by them.  One set of doctors will tell you that this is a fearsome and troubling pandemic, while others will lull you into complacency with statistics about the mortality rate.

And now that the data is no longer running through the CDC, this confusion seems to be growing by the minute.

Of course, fact checking organizations have already ruined their reputations by crying wolf at every meme and every bit of unannounced sarcasm they find online, so Americans are truly having a hard time determining who to trust, with social media companies, (of all people), trying to fill this factual vacuum themselves.

This has led to some opinions being declared verboten, and those who share such information being chastised and scorned by these platforms.

Social media giant Twitter suspended the account of Donald Trump Jr. after he shared a video of doctors talking about the controversial anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine.

A message from the company said that some features of Trump Jr.’s account were “temporarily limited” after he violated the company’s rules — specifically, a policy on “spreading misleading and potentially harmful misinformation” related to the coronavirus.

A spokesperson for the company said that the account was not suspended, but that “some” account features would be limited for 12 hours because of the rule violation.

The anti-malarial drug has been touted by some, including President Trump, as being effective against coronavirus.  There are serious side effects associated with hydroxychloroquine, however, and many doctors have urged that patients should be discussing its use with their chosen medical professionals before treating themselves with it.