FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, July 21, 2022
Contact: [email protected]
Twitter Permanently Bans World Council for Health Two Days Before World Ivermectin Day
Account removed without warning for “targeted harassment” or incitement of harassment.
On Thursday, July 21, Twitter permanently suspended the World Council for Health (WCH_org) from the platform without warning or detailed explanation. The suspension comes two days before World Ivermectin Day, an initiative to celebrate the medicine Ivermectin that relies heavily on social media, specifically Twitter.
An email from Twitter indicates that the account was suspended for “violating our rules against abuse and harassment,” going on to note that users “may not engage in the targeted harassment of someone, or incite other people to do so. This includes wishing or hoping that someone experiences physical harm.” The email does not provide any examples of tweets or content that constitute “harassment” or “abuse”.
Twitter is part of the “Trusted News Initiative” (TNI) that includes Google, Facebook, and Microsoft tech giants heavily invested in Covid pharmaceuticals. Dr. Tess Lawrie, a Steering Committee member and co-founder of the World Council for Health suggests, “People new to the ivermectin story really need to start asking themselves, what is it that the TNI is afraid you will hear?”
The WCH Twitter account is used to promote the organization’s events (including World Ivermectin Day), share tweets from partner organizations, and comment on relevant news. At no point did the account engage in “targeted harassment” or “wishing or hoping that someone experiences physical harm.”
The last tweets published by the account in the lead up to the suspension include:
Recent retweets include tweets from the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, REACT19, the Can We Talk About It campaign, and quote tweets of the World Ivermectin Day countdown.
This suspension by Twitter is baseless and unwarranted, and the reason given for the suspension is irrational. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government: When this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins.”
As a global health organization, it is essential that the World Council for Health has a presence on Twitter and all social media platforms as a means to connect with people around the world and with the many officials who communicate important public health decisions and source information via social media.
WCH supporters that are on Twitter’s platform are invited to tweet directly to Twitter (@Twitter) and Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) to demand that the suspension of the World Council for Health (@WCH_org) be immediately reversed.
Despite Twitter’s attempt at censorship in the lead-up to World Ivermectin Day, the initiative will not be silenced or slowed. Help to stop Twitter censorship by sharing World Ivermectin Day memes on Twitter using the hashtag #WorldIvermectinDay. “Let’s work together to get the news out about this safe established medicine that may one day save your life,” said Dr. Tess Lawrie.
Censorship is always cause for celebration. It is always an opportunity because it reveals fear of reform. It means that the power position is so weak that you have got to care what people think.
Julian Assange
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