Twitter Removed Brazilian President's Tweet For Containing COVID-19 Fake News

On Sunday, Twitter removed two tweets of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian President, as they contained false information on the Coronavirus-borne COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a spokesperson of Twitter, recently, the company expanded its rules on information coming from official sources that have the potential to put people at a higher risk of contracting the Coronavirus.

The now-gone tweets have been redirected to the rules and policies page of Twitter.

Ever since Bolsonaro was elected in October 2018, this is the first time Twitter takes action against what coming from his account.

This is not the first time the platform takes a heavy-handed measure against a head of state regarding the CO.VID-19 outbreak. Last week, a tweet by Nicolás Maduro, Venezuelan president, was also removed as it showed a natural brew which he claimed can work against the Coronavirus.

In the deleted tweets, Bosolonaro praised the effect of hydroxychloroquine, a drug to treat malaria on COVID-19. He also encouraged lifting social distancing and isolation.

Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine attracted lots of attention last month when a study shows an initial effect of them on the disease.

The video lasted longer on Facebook until it and Instagram axed it for community guideline violation.

On Friday, the site also removed a tweet from Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer of President Donald Trump who claimed that hydroxychloroquine was 100% effective in treating COVID-19.

What Bolsonaro said mirrors Trump’s idea that the anti-malaria drug works and said that Americans need to go back to work. However, by Monday, Trump’s tweets are still on.

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