WASHINGTON — A News & Observer article out yesterday blasted controversial North Carolina state Senator Bob Steinburg for his questionable social media activity. While his transgressions are almost too numerous to choose from, the article highlights Steinburg’s role in spreading dangerous misinformation about coronavirus as the state battles the pandemic.
A Facebook post by a North Carolina state senator has been removed by the social media platform because the post shared a debunked video promoting alternative COVID-19 treatments.
It’s the second time Facebook’s attempts to curb the spread of misinformation have affected a post by Sen. Bob Steinburg, who now says the government should “crack down” on social media censorship.
Steinburg’s penchant for spreading disinformation is by no means limited to the coronavirus pandemic; he’s also been a zealous promoter of conspiracy theories about Black Lives Matter protests. An earlier post about an alleged attack was also tagged and removed by Facebook.
But wait, there’s more:
- In a comment, Steinburg implied that Jews were to blame for the Holocaust, saying “The Jews remained silent in Nazi Germany for too long and that didn’t come out well for them.”
- Steinburg called BLM protestors “thugs” and called for a “major league government crackdown.” His district has a sizable Black population and includes an HBCU. He later said protests were an “organized, well funded, Mob Rule effort to destroy our nation by Marxists who see this as the moment they have awaited for decades.”
- He suggested Democrats were artificially extending the pandemic “to make the case for mail in voting en-masse to steal an election.”
- He complained that Facebook took down a video that claimed wearing a mask can lower your oxygen levels, saying “The FB Police believe we should not see this and discern 4 ourselves.”
- He claimed that President Trump was right and that hydroxychloroquine was an effective treatment for COVID-19, despite ample evidence to the contrary.
Steinburg’s social media posts are just one reason that he was inducted into the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee’s 2020 GOP Hall of Shame. This November, he faces Democrat Tess Judge in a competitive race for the state’s 1st Senate District.
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