Twitter has banned a reporter for the right-wing platform Newsmax, finding that she repeatedly violated the social network's policies against COVID-19 misinformation. Emerald Robinson, who has promoted discredited conspiracy theories relating to the pandemic and vaccines, was permanently suspended on Nov. 9.
Days earlier, Newsmax had removed her from on-air duties while the company investigated a recent blog post. The post promoted claims — already thoroughly debunked — that COVID-19 vaccines contained a substance called "Luciferase," which was evidence of a Satanic plot that "might herald the end of the world."
On Nov. 3, Twitter temporarily locked Robinson's account after she posted a link to that article. When her account was reinstated on Nov. 9, she appears to have posted once again on the subject of Luciferase, and Twitter then enacted the permanent ban.
A company spokesperson told Snopes the ban was in response to "repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy" — which prohibits, among other types of harmful content, "False or misleading information about the efficacy and/or safety of preventative measures, treatments, or other precautions to mitigate or treat the disease."
In a follow-up blog post on Nov. 9, Robinson doubled down on her nonsensical claims of a Satanic conspiracy, writing "The new COVID-19 antibody test is called SATiN," and adding "I’m not getting anywhere near this dark stuff." Despite "satin" being an entirely different word with no shared meaning or common etymological root with "Satan," Robinson concluded:
You don’t have to be a Christian to understand: names matter. It’s not an accident that they’ve given this name to this test. It’s a warning.
Robinson joined Newsmax as its White House Correspondent in February 2020 after serving in a similar role at OANN (One America News Network) — like Newsmax, a previously lesser-known right-wing media platform given a boost in popularity and prominence under the administration of former President Donald Trump. According to her own website, Robinson grew up in rural Virginia.
Snopes asked Newsmax whether Robinson was still limited to non-broadcast duties at the company, or if her employment status had changed. We did not receive a response in time for publication.