Thread by @Seana_Davis

We’ve been saying this for so long.

If 2020 has shown us anything, it’s that you don’t need high tech to spur on misinformation.

This account was impersonating Dr. Fauci. But look how many followers it had before being suspended yesterday.

A few things:

First, this shows how vulnerable we are to disinformation.

Second, it shows how easy it is to impersonate anyone on Twitter.

It’s also really important from a policy perspective to take note of this.

Much of the policy talk regarding Big Tech is centered on speed.

But there needs to be a bigger discussion about integral problems - like the verification system to setting up a Twitter account.

Also not so helpful that this is the only statement from Twitter:

“According to a Twitter Spokesperson, the account you referenced was suspended for violating Twitter rules on impersonation”.

Interestingly, some comments have been saying that this account was comedic.

This was the tweet pinned at the top.

Can't see the humour in it myself.

It also retweeted a Biden-Harris tweet prior to its suspension.

How did the account spread so fast?

It was shared widely.

For example, this account retweeted the fake Fauci account.

This user has over 1 million followers.

Twitter refused to provide further details when asked for the exact number of followers the account had prior to removal and for how long they took to remove the account.