After deleting a video in which he mentioned false information linking the coronavirus vaccine to AIDS, YouTube suspended the channel of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday for a week. The social networks Facebook and Instagram also deleted the video.
The YouTube video platform suspended Brazilian President Bolsonaro’s channel activities for a week on Monday, October 25, after he deleted a video that mentioned false information linking the coronavirus vaccine to AIDS. The social networks Facebook and Instagram belonging to the same group also deleted it.
In a weekly live video posted on multiple platforms at the same time last Thursday, Jair Bolsonaro mentioned a rumor that an official British report “implied” that fully vaccinated people are developing HIV “faster than expected.”
“I suggest you read the news. I will not read them here because there may be problems in my life,” the head of state added.
The British government denied this information to the Agence France-Presse fact-checking service. The Brazilian Institute of Infectious Diseases assured in a statement on Saturday that “there is no relationship between any vaccine against Covid-19 and the development of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)”.
Youtube restricts its posting
Youtube decided to delete the video “violating our medical false information policy on Covid-19, claiming that the vaccine will not reduce the risk of contracting the disease and cause other infectious diseases”.
This is the second time the president has violated the “community standards” of the platform. YouTube issued its first alert in July, when it removed other videos containing false information about the pandemic from its channel, questioned the effectiveness of masks to prevent infection, and encouraged the use of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. These drugs are not considered effective.
This time, according to the regulations of the platform, he will not be able to publish any new videos or broadcast live for the next 7 days.
The rest of his videos on the channel (he has 3.5 million subscribers) can still be watched on YouTube.
The first weekly live broadcast assigned
On Sunday night, the weekly live video of the Brazilian President last Thursday will no longer be broadcast on Facebook, nor on Instagram, another social network in the same group.
A Facebook spokesperson explained: “Our policy does not allow (issuing) statements about death or serious health problems caused by the anti-Covid vaccine.”
Facebook has withdrawn a video in March in which Jair Bolsonaro criticized preventive measures and anti-coronavirus vaccines, encouraging gatherings, and at this time about 2,500 people die from the coronavirus in Brazil every day.
But this is the first time its weekly Thursday live broadcast has been affected by such measures.
Controversial remarks
The far-right president made many controversial remarks about vaccines, and even said last year that Pfizer could “turn (people) into crocodiles.”
The head of state has long stated that he will be “the last Brazilian to be immunized” and recently announced that he has given up vaccinations altogether.
Last week, the Senate Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry requested the prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro (Jair Bolsonaro) because of his policies deemed “irresponsible” during the health crisis, especially because of delays in obtaining vaccines and spreading false pandemic information. is convicted.
Agence France-Presse