Twitter required a tweet by Fox News host Laura Ingraham to be removed after she touted a yet unproven coronavirus cure that has been a favorite talking point among supporters of President Donald Trump.
In the tweet, Ingraham wrote, “Lenox Hill in New York among many hospitals already using Hydroxychloroquine with very promising results. One patient was described as ‘Lazarus’ who was seriously ill from Corona-19, already released.”
Twitter confirmed to IJR that Ingraham’s tweet was removed over coronavirus misinformation. If the Fox News host did not remove the tweet, her account would have been suspended.
https://twitter.com/ZTPetrizzo/status/1244649180917829634?s=20
Ingraham’s tweet stemmed from an interview with Dr. William Grace, and was even summarized in a previous Fox News article.
In her segment, Ingraham introduced Grace as an “oncologist with Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.” The chyron on the program also listed Grace as a “Lenox Hill oncologist.”
However, Fox News was forced to correct their article after it was revealed that Grace does not even work at Lenox Hill Hospital.
In their update, they wrote, “A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Dr. William Grace’s relationship to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Dr. Grace is not employed by the hospital and his opinions given below are his own.”
Here’s the clip of Ingraham’s interview with Grace:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPRuCqINYh0
Twitter has been working overtime to try to combat misinformation on its platform.
They’ve removed tweets from several figures, including a tweet from Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani who also touted hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus cure.
Hydroxychloroquine is an anti-malaria drug that President Trump has called “one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine.”
Trump appears to be influenced by a French study that has become wildly popular after finding that the hydroxychloroquine may be able to fight coronavirus. However, the sample size in the study is extremely small (enrolling only 36 out of 42 patients) and other doctors in France have criticized the study, calling it only “observational.”
Nonetheless, the United States has contracted a North Carolina company to run tests on the possible treatment.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated for clarity after publication.