YouTube Suspends Bolsonaro's Channel for a Week Over COVID Vaccines Misinformation

YouTube suspended the activities of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's channel for a week on Monday after removing a video that contained false information linking the COVID-19 vaccine to AIDS. YouTube stated in a release obtained by AFP, "We removed a video from Jair Bolsonaro's channel for violating our medical misinformation policies related to COVID-19, by claiming that vaccines do not reduce the risk of infection and that they cause other infectious diseases." This is the second time the president has violated the platform's "standards." During the next seven days, he will not be able to post any new videos or conduct live streams, according to the platform's rules. However, the rest of his videos on the channel, which has 3.5 million subscribers, remain available on YouTube. On Monday, the social media networks Facebook and Instagram, which belong to the same group, also deleted the video for the same reason. In the live video broadcast last Thursday, Bolsonaro mentioned a rumor that "official reports from the British government indicate" that fully vaccinated individuals are developing the AIDS virus "much faster than expected." However, this information was denied by the British government in a statement to AFP's fact-checking service. The Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases confirmed in a statement on Saturday that "there is no known relationship between any COVID-19 vaccine and the development of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)." AFP requested a response from President Bolsonaro's press office, but did not receive a reply. There has also been no reaction from the far-right Brazilian leader regarding the suspension of his YouTube channel.