Brazil senators asked the country’s highest court to suspend President Jairbolsonaro from social media, after he claimed that the Covid-19 vaccine was connected to AIDS.
Tuesday’s Senate vote called for the indefinite ban of far-right leader from YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. He cited nonexistent ‘official reports from the British government’ that claimed fully vaccinated persons are developing AIDS much faster than expected.
Bolsonaro made the claim Thursday in his weekly live Facebook address. Facebook removed the video for violating its policies about spreading misinformation.
YouTube took it one step further Monday by suspending Bolsonaro and blocking the clip.
As the Senate commission, who has spent six months investigating Bolsonaro government’s pandemic response to it, was about to vote on a damning report, the Senate asked for the request.
It recommended that the president face multiple criminal charges, including those against mankind, for downplaying Covid-19 as well as flouting expert guidance on its containment.
More than 606,000 people died in Brazil’s pandemic, which is second only to that of the United States.
A Senate panel investigating Brazil’s pandemic response has asked for the Supreme Court and the prosecutor general to suspend President Jairbolsonaro from social media. Bolsonaro falsely linked Covid-19 vaccinations to AIDS.
After false statements were made about the Covid-19 pandemic, Facebook and Instagram removed the live streaming from Instagram on Sunday.
In it, Bolsonaro said: ‘I’m just going to report it, I won’t comment. I’ve spoken about it in the past. I’ve been beat a lot. Here’s the deal: official UK government reports show that fully vaccinated people are more likely to be fully vaccinated.
“Second dose, right… 15 day later, 15 days following the second dose… fully vaccinated… they’re developing Acquired Immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) much quicker than expected,” the far-right leader stated.
“So, read this article. I won’t read it here, because I might have a problem with (my) live stream.
After the video was removed, a Facebook spokesperson told Brazilian outlet Folha de São Paulo: ‘Our policies do not allow for claims that Covid-19 vaccines kill or can cause serious harm to people.’
Bolsonaro made this claim on Thursday during his weekly live Facebook address. Facebook has since removed the video because it violates its policies regarding spreading misinformation.
The president of the National Council of Health Secretaries Carlos Lula condemned Bolsonaro’s misinformation claims Monday, according to the outlet.
“It imposes an burden on people living with HIV. He said that this was another regrettable chapter in the series obtuse statements made by the president during the fight to eradicate the pandemic.
Bolsonaro’s videos have been removed frequently from social media sites, including 15 taken from his YouTube channel last July due to misinformation.
He has fought against vaccinations and vowed to never get the jab. He also called Covid-19 a “little flu” and continually attacked the measures put in place to stop the spread of the virus.
Karen Santo from Porto Alegre council believes that his rhetoric was partly responsible for the clash between anti-vaxxers holding swastika placards and legislators with a Covid-19 vaccine passport mandate.
Bolsonaro has been vocal against vaccinations and has vowed not to get them. He also called Covid-19 the ‘little flu’ and has repeatedly attacked measures to combat the spread. (pictured, Covid-19 patient at a hospital in south Brazil in April).
The pandemic has claimed more Brazilian lives than 606,000, second only to the United States. (pictured, cemetery workers inter a coffin of a Covid-19 victims)
