Twitter Blocks Mask Tweet From Trump Science Adviser

Scott Atlas said they don't work
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 19, 2020 4:20 AM CDT
Twitter Blocks Trump Science Adviser's Tweet About Masks
White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Scott Atlas departs after a television interview at the White House, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Twitter blocked a post Sunday from an adviser to President Trump who suggested that masks do not work to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the AP reports. Scott Atlas, who joined the White House in August as a science adviser, had tweeted “Masks work? NO,” and said widespread use of masks is not supported. The tweet violated a Twitter policy that prohibits sharing false or misleading misinformation about COVID-19 that could lead to harm, a company spokesperson said. The policy bans statements that have been confirmed to be false or misleading by experts such as public health authorities. In such cases, Twitter disables the account until its owner deletes the post in question.

“I don’t understand why the tweets were deleted,” Atlas said in an email, calling Twitter's actions censorship. He said his tweet was intended to show that "general population masks and mask mandates do not work," and he clarified that the correct policy is to use masks when one cannot socially distance. Atlas added that infections exploded even with mandates in Los Angeles County, Miami-Dade County, Hawaii, Alabama, the Philippines, Japan, and other places. Researchers have concluded that masks can control the spread of the virus, and public health experts have urged the public to wear them. But Trump and his team often go without masks while campaigning. Atlas, the former chief of neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Center and a fellow at Stanford’s conservative Hoover Institution, has no expertise in public health or infectious diseases. (Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday had this to say about masks.)

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