麻豆传媒

Three doctors accused of spreading COVID-19 misinformation are suing Twitter for what they say was unfair suspension of their accounts that amounted to a "breach of contract."

Robert Malone, MD, Peter McCullough, MD, MPH, and Brian Tyson, MD, are named as the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, but two additional doctors are named in a letter to Twitter from Matthew P. Tyson, who is representing the group along with Bryan M. Garrie.

"These are five of the most knowledgeable and helpful voices in the world regarding COVID-19 treatment," Tyson wrote in the letter, which also names Vladimir Zelenko, MD, and George Fareed, MD. "Disturbingly, Twitter silenced all of them."

The doctors' move to sue Twitter is the latest in a recent series of public battles over misinformation and "free speech," which have included Elon Musk's bid to buy Twitter and former President Donald Trump's removal from the platform.

Malone's and McCullough's history of high-profile affiliations with institutions like Harvard and Baylor (some of which have sought to distance themselves) and leadership in conservative political groups have propelled them to prominence within anti-vaccine and "early treatment" circles.

Malone, who was involved in early development of mRNA, has promoted the debunked theory of "mass formation psychosis" to explain why people get vaccinated, while McCullough healthy people under 50 and those who already had COVID have no reason to be vaccinated.

The lawsuit alleges that Malone, McCullough, and Brian Tyson, who has for COVID-19, entered into a contractual agreement with Twitter under its terms of service and content moderation terms, among other policies, and Twitter broke that contract by permanently suspending their accounts.

The complaint also points to Twitter's "," which lays out a "five-strike" rule for misleading tweets. The fifth strike, following progressively lengthier account locks, triggers an account suspension.

Documents from the lawsuit state that each of the three plaintiffs "only posted truthful statements regarding COVID-19 policy, diagnosis and/or treatment with this account," and that "None of [each plaintiff's] tweets qualified as a strike or otherwise violated Defendants' stated rules."

However, in their , Twitter states that they can stop providing services "at any time for any or no reason."

It's still unclear which specific tweets Twitter used as grounds for the doctors' suspensions, or why McCullough was allowed to create a new account, though the complaint also notes that Twitter didn't reinstate his "verified badge," a blue check symbol granted to public figures. The blue check serves to signify that tweets are authentic, but also acts as a status signifier in the world of online discourse.

According to the lawsuit, Twitter "refused to verify Dr. McCullough's account, stating that 'it does not meet our criteria,'" after he applied for the badge.

Notably, the letter to Twitter name drops Elon Musk, who was gearing up to buy the platform with the intention of limiting permanent bans on accounts -- but who has now backed out of the deal.

The plaintiffs are asking for their accounts to be reactivated, for McCullough's blue check back, for legal fees, and "such other and further relief as the court deems just."

To make a First Amendment argument under the law, Matthew Tyson and Garrie may have to tie Twitter, a private company, to the government. In the letter, Tyson noted that Twitter chose to "abandon its role as a neutral internet service provider" and "colluded" with the government to violate the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights. The government, he wrote, made "express and implied threats" to the company to compel it to "censor certain viewpoints and speakers."

In response to inquiries from 麻豆传媒, Twitter replied, "no comment from Twitter." Tyson and Garrie also did not respond to questions in time for publication. 麻豆传媒 could not confirm if Matthew Tyson and Brian Tyson are related.

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