Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jul 06, 2025

Anti-Covid vaccine tweets face five-strikes ban policy

Anti-Covid vaccine tweets face five-strikes ban policy

Twitter is to ban users who repeatedly tweet harmful misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines.

Under the scheme, members will face a lock being placed on their account. Its duration will be determined by how many times they have posted misleading information about the jabs.

If they accrue "five strikes", they face a permanent ban.

Anti-disinformation campaigners say the success of the initiative now depends on how strictly Twitter enforces it.

The move brings the social network in line with several of its rivals.

Facebook and Instagram announced their own pledge to close the accounts of repeat offenders a month ago.

And YouTube already operates its own three-strikes system, which was extended in October to cover claims about vaccines that contradict "expert consensus".

Label v deletions


Twitter also said it would begin applying labels to tweets that it believes "may contain misleading information" about Covid-19 vaccines, that it has not deemed to be serious enough to warrant removal.

Its rules and policies guide is not definitive about how it will determine what action to take.

But it indicates it will delete posts that invoke a "deliberate conspiracy" by malicious forces and/or that claim vaccines are an "intentional attempt to cause harm".

And it will label those that only contain misleading information about the safety of the treatments, or that make other debunked claims about adverse impacts.

Posts that question the effectiveness of the jabs but do not misrepresent research findings will be neither removed nor labelled, the guide adds.

The five-strikes system is a bit more complicated than it sounds as different offences merit different penalties:

*  tweets that are labelled and determined to be harmful accrue one strike

*  tweets that are deleted accrue two strikes

Based on this, users face being locked out of their account once they get two strikes or more with:

*  two and three strikes both leading to a 12-hour suspension

*  four strikes leading to a week-long lockout

*  five strikes or more leading to a permanent ban

In a blog, Twitter added that it had removed more than 8,400 tweets to date for breaking its earlier Covid-19 rules.

But one group said the US firm had done "less than the bare minimum" to tackle anti-vaccination posts.

"The anti-vaxx industry comprises a small number of highly active, well-resourced accounts, producing industrial levels of disinformation, most of which are still up and tweeting," said Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate think tank.

"When misinformation is reported to them using their own reporting tools, we know little is done in practice.

"Last year we reported dozens of posts containing Covid misinformation in partnership with youth charity, Restless Development. Fewer than one in 20 misinformation posts actually had action taken against them."


Since the beginning of the pandemic, conspiracy influencers have grown huge followings on social media by repeatedly sharing falsehoods about vaccines.

I investigated the boom in the following of accounts promoting anti-vaccine content on Twitter for BBC Panorama - exposing the harm it had caused to communities across the UK.

Vulnerable people I interviewed were scared off the vaccines by the latest tactics of a committed minority of activists, who use Twitter and other platforms.

Twitter has repeatedly committed to tackling harmful misinformation - but it will take some time to see whether this updated strike system results in those repeat offenders having their accounts removed.

While many of those influencers sharing vaccine mistruths in the UK have already been suspended from the site, accounts of those in the US - central to this disinformation ecosystem that repeatedly distorts stories about the vaccine - remain live at this time.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
×