‘Pandemic’s Wrongest Man’ Alex Berenson Permanently Suspended From Twitter

Sarah RumpfAug 28th, 2021, 9:18 pm
 

Alex Berenson

Alex Berenson, memorably dubbed “The Pandemic’s Wrongest Man,” has been permanently suspended from Twitter after yet another anti-vaccine tweet.

According to NBC senior reporter Ben Collins, a Twitter spokesperson told him that Berenson’s account was permanently suspended for “repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation rules.”

The tweet that reportedly triggered Berenson’s suspension criticized the vaccine as being unable to stop infection or transmission and having a “terrible side effect profile.” At this point, all three vaccines approved for use in the U.S. — Pfizer’s with full FDA approval, and the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines with Emergency Use Authorization — have completed extensive trials, and millions of Americans have been vaccinated. The data is clear that the vaccines reduce the risk of infection and transmission, and most importantly, virtually eliminate the risk of death or serious illness from Covid-19.

alex berenson vaccine tweet

Screenshot via Twitter.

Any reported side effects that have occurred after the administration of a Covid-19 vaccine — for example, blood clots or temporary heart inflammation — have occurred at a much, much lower rate than they have from Covid itself. A massive study in the UK studied medical records for about 30 million people and found that the risk of developing blood clots from Covid was nearly 200 times higher than the risk of developing blood clots after receiving the vaccine.

It’s important to keep in mind that correlation is not causation; the mere fact a side effect occurs after a vaccine does not mean the side effect occurred because of the vaccine. It’s a sad fact that some people will develop blood clots and even die from them without Covid or any vaccine being involved.

“Alex Berenson is full of shit,” was Mediaite’s Colby Hall blunt assessment of Berenson’s anti-vaccine rhetoric. Twitter appears to have finally had enough of it.

Prior to his suspension, Berenson had nearly 350,000 Twitter followers and has made numerous guest appearances on conservative television and radio shows and conferences where he has made anti-mask, anti-vaccine comments that have been loudly and aggressively debunked by scientists.

At the CPAC conference in Dallas earlier this year, Berenson was cheered by the crowd when he praised people for rejecting government recommendations to get the Covid-19 vaccine. He’s made blatantly false comments about the vaccines on programs like Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight.

A month ago, Berenson was tweeting that people should just get infected with Covid, incorrectly claiming that provided better immunity than the vaccine. A few days later, he followed that up with a tweet tastelessly comparing a vaccine that saves lives to Auschwitz.

Meanwhile, as the Delta variant causes cases to surge, hospital ICUs across the country are past capacity, with the vast majority of their Covid patients being unvaccinated.

UPDATE 9:25 pm ET: Berenson has reportedly launched a new Twitter account, in violation of Twitter’s terms of service. The account, @GenRescue, has a bio that says “Definitely not Alex Berenson” and links to his Substack account.

alex berenson genrescue twitter

Screenshot via Twitter.

UPDATE 10:02 pm ET: The @GenRescue account was originally created in 2009, but has been updated to link to Berenson’s content. A multitude of Twitter users — including both Berenson’s supporters and some of his most vocal critics — are viewing the account as being controlled by Berenson.

UPDATE 11:30 am ET 8/30/21: The @GenRescue account has now also been suspended from Twitter.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.