Author and anti-vaxxer Naomi Wolf just got banned from Twitter – here’s some of her wildest tweets

American author Naomi Wolf has been suspended from Twitter after she used the platform to spread myths about the coronavirus, vaccines and lockdowns and people are relieved.

As the pandemic continued, the Democrat shared her criticisms of mask-wearing and jabs, calling vaccines “a software platform that can receive uploads” and claiming “the best way to show respect for healthcare workers if you are healthy and under 65 is to socialise sensibly and expose yourself to a low viral load.”

Interesting.

Twitter took action today and in doing so ended her long tenure on the platform as an accidental entertainer. Here are some of her most bonkers Twitter moments:

1. When she got tricked into sharing an image of a porn star making a false quote

In an incredible display of poor fact-checking, The Intercept reporter Ken Klippenstein managed to trick Dr Wolf into tweeting a completely made-up quote, on an image featuring an American porn star.

Sending Wolf a DM on Twitter, Klippenstein told the writer that he was a “huge fan of your work” and that he “[admired] your outspokenness”, attaching the image for Dr Wolf to share.

The photo in question is of adult film star Johnny Sins in a doctor’s costume, accompanied with the completely false quote: “If a vaccine is effective, then why do you need to pressure people to take it? Informed consent means letting patients make their own choices.”

Naturally, Dr Wolf shared the anti-vaxx post without confirming whether a Dr John Sims, MD existed, whether he actually said that, and whether he actually looked like that (he definitely doesn’t).

If she had researched properly, who knows, she would not only realise her mistake, but learn that a lot of her arguments about COVID and the vaccine are flawed and/or unsubstantiated.

2. Not the bear!

Sometimes one wonders what truly strikes fear into the hearts of anti-vaxxers. For the general population, we’d argue that a deadly pandemic is pretty scary, but for those who are against the jab, is it 5G? The supposed chips inserted into you which turns your Nan into a Wi-Fi router, or something far more sinister?

Well, in the case of Dr Wolf, one tweet from May suggests that it was a cuddly toy bear:

Yes, really.

Taking to Twitter on 26 May, the “famous globetrotting entrepreneurial bear”, Stanley Bear, wrote that he “helped out at Leamington Spa vaccination centre as a NHS volunteer steward. The post was accompanied with an adorable snap of the bear in a hi vis jacket and face mask, holding a ‘I’ve had my COVID vaccine’ sticker.

Dr Wolf’s response in a quote tweet was one of sheer horror.

“No! No,” she tweeted.

Someone remind us to bring Paddington Bear with me to the next anti-lockdown protest…

3. When she described 1970s Belfast as being “peaceful” when it was anything but…

It’s not only American porn stars which Dr Wolf appears to know little to nothing about, as a tweet from June 2019 revealed her understanding of Northern Irish history.

Responding to a tweet from another Twitter user, the writer said: “It was amazing to go to Belfast, which does not yet have 5G, and feel the earth, sky, air, human experience, feel the way it did in the 1970s. Calm, still, peaceful, restful, natural.”

For those unfamiliar, the 1970s in Northern Ireland were definitely not “peaceful”, as the country was right in the middle of The Troubles.

4. When she claimed vaccines can give you the power to travel in time

If you’ve ever fancied becoming the next Doctor Who and travelling in time, then the answer doesn’t require you to get a spaceship in the form of a police public call box. No, in the case of Dr Wolf, the magic superpower lies in a shot of a coronavirus vaccine.

In February this year, she wrote: “Terrifying. Also confirms/explains the conversation I overheard in a restaurant in Manhattan two years ago in which an Apple employee was boasting about attending a top-secret demo.

“They had a new tech to deliver vaccines with nanoparticles that let you travel back in time. Not kidding.”

Even if it did let you travel back in time (it doesn’t), I’d much prefer staying in the Modern(a) day and becoming an Astra-naut.

And hey, who needs to travel back in time when anti-vaxxers do that already with their dangerous approach to vaccinations?

5. When she called on public health officials to separate vaccinated people’s urine from sewages

At one point, Dr Wolf took talking s**t about the pandemic a little too literally, as she suggested that the those vaccinated have their wee and excrement separated from other sewage to protect people. “The ad campaign tried to make unvaccinated “toxic” to others but maybe [the] reverse is true.”

In a tweet shared on Friday night, she said: “It seems urgent for public health to separate vaccinated people’s urine/feces from general sewage supplies/waterways til studies are done of how MRNA in sewage – drinking water will affect [us] all.

Ironically, time spent doing such a procedure would be a waste. I think the only thing that would be toxic is venturing down the sewers.

6. When she shared a bizarre plane encounter

Finally, if all else fails, think of the children.

Dr Wolf did that last month, when she posted about an incident she had witnessed on a plane and described the “terrible, terrible sound of a three-year-old pleading on a plane, about to take off, for their parents to unmask them. ‘I don’t want it! Daddy!’”

Alongside there being no evidence of this actually happening beyond Dr Wolf’s tweet, turning the experiences of children into political commentary is not uncommon and is often ridiculed online.

…What?

While some may miss Dr Wolf’s bizarre and unfounded claims now that she’s been suspended from Twitter, others will no doubt express relief that a popular propagator of conspiracy theories no longer has such a high profile on the platform.