In a move that caused outrage, Twitter didn’t remove transphobic tweets from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) in which she makes hateful remarks about Adm. Rachel Levine, a transgender Biden administration official. Instead, the social media platform included disclaimers and turned off comments and retweets for the post.
In a set of two tweets, Greene referred to Levine, who is a transgender woman born a man named Richard Levine, as “Dr. Dick Levine.” Calling a transgender person by their original name is known as “deadnaming,” which is used to mock and degrade them.
“We must do everything we can to prevent Dr. Dick Levine’s pre-teen #WeenieChop,” Greene tweeted from her official account.
The post is still up on Twitter, though it now reads:
“This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about hateful conduct. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”
In another tweet, Greene stated: “Now that I think about it. As Dr. Dick Levine advocates for ‘gender affirming care’ for minors, has he undergone the #WeenieChop himself? Or is he just pushing this on children?”
Twitter also attached a disclaimer to that post. However, trans and gay rights groups believe that Greene hasn’t been appropriately punished. A representative for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) told Axios:
“This account has repeatedly and intentionally violated Twitter’s Hateful Conduct guidelines against targeted deadnaming and misgendering of transgender people. It’s clear that some politicians see pushing malicious, anti-trans content on social media as part of their election strategy, even with the full knowledge that such content is violative.”
This isn’t the first time Greene has made anti-trans remarks. Earlier this month, she mocked Illinois’ Democratic Rep. Marie Newman’s transgender daughter. Last month, she blamed a nationwide tampon shortage on trans men.