California Democrat Ted Lieu deletes tweet after Elon Musk fact-checks him

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) deleted a tweet responding to the "Twitter Files" after CEO Elon Musk said he was pointing users to "misleading data" about COVID. 

Lieu deleted his tweet Monday in response to reporter David Zweig's Twitter Files revelations showing how the social media platform censored factually accurate COVID information that conflicted with the federal government.

"The tweet you cite is in fact misleading. People of all ages at high risk from covid generally benefit from vaccines. Prior natural immunity may last only a few months. COVID appears to be a leading cause of death for children," Lieu tweeted with a link to a preprint study that was re-written after critics pointed out its inaccuracies. 

"Ted is linking to misleading data," Musk tweeted, calling for the platform's Community Notes to add missing information to the congressman's tweet. 

Lieu deleted the tweet and responded again with a similar post by changing "COVID appears to be a leading cause of death for children" to "COVID can still be lethal for some children" and linking to a Bloomberg article titled, "Covid Is Way More Lethal to Kids Than The Flu."

Critics again called out Lieu for spreading misleading information about COVID in his tweet. 

Lieu defended his decision to delete the tweet. 

"I actually follow the facts wherever they may lead, and will revise my views if there are new facts," he said.