Twitter says Nicki Minaj's bizarre tweet linking COVID-19 vaccines with erectile dysfunction doesn't break its rules on misinformation

• Rapper Nicki Minaj sent a tweet linking erectile dysfunction with the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Twitter won't take action because the tweet was presented as an anecdote, not a fact, the site said.
• There is no evidence linking COVID-19 vaccines with fertility problems in women or men.

Twitter says a bizarre tweet from rapper Nicki Minaj linking the COVID-19 vaccine with erectile dysfunction doesn't violate its policies on COVID-19 misinformation.

In the tweet, Minaj said a cousin of hers wouldn't get the vaccine because a friend of his "became impotent" after getting a shot.

"His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it & make sure you're comfortable with ur decision, not bullied," Minaj said.

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-Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 13, 2021

There is no evidence to link the COVID-19 vaccine with fertility problems in men or women, doctors and health professionals told Insider in February.

Twitter has a specific policy about what qualifies as COVID-19 misinformation. If tweets are found to violate that policy, Twitter either labels or removes them.

Twitter doesn't consider Minaj's tweet to violate its "misleading information policy," and so has not taken any action against it.

Twitter's policy says: "In order for content related to COVID-19 to be considered violative under this policy, it must advance a claim of fact, expressed in definitive terms."

The policy also says that "personal anecdotes or first-person accounts" are not a violation.

A Twitter spokesperson said that because Minaj's tweet was a personal anecdote, it didn't violate the rules.

"The tweets referenced are not in violation of the Twitter rules," the spokesperson said.

Minaj also said on Monday that she had not yet got a COVID-19 vaccine, although she said she probably would at some point so she could travel for tours.

Two urologists told Insider in January that cases of erectile dysfunction had gone up since the beginning of the pandemic, probably because of stress and people's sedentary lifestyle.

A small-scale study published in August also suggested erectile dysfunction could be a long-term symptom of catching COVID-19.