Instagram deletes Madonna’s post containing false COVID-19 claims

Michael Campanella/Getty ImagesMadonna is under fire for posting a controversial video on Instagram that made false claims about a cure for COVID-19.The clip was initially flagged by Instagram and blurred out, before being deleted completely. It featu…

By ABC Audio on July 29, 2020

Michael Campanella/Getty ImagesMadonna is under fire for posting a controversial video on Instagram that made false claims about a cure for COVID-19.

The clip was initially flagged by Instagram and blurred out, before being deleted completely. It featured Stella Immanuel, a member of a group calling themselves “America’s Frontline Doctors,” who has made unsubstantiated claims that hydroxychloroquine is a cure for coronavirus.

Madonna, who revealed in May she had tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, had captioned the post, “The Truth will set us all Free! Notice how this info is being censored. But some people don’t want to hear the truth.” She also called Immanuel “my hero.”

“We’ve removed this video for making false claims about cures and prevention methods for COVID-19,” Raki Wane, a spokesperson for Instagram, tells Billboard in a statement. “People who reacted to, commented on, or shared this video will see messages directing them to authoritative information about the virus.”

Wane adds that Instagram is “removing all instances of this video, and not just Madonna’s.” Versions of the video have also been shared by President Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter. Both posts were removed by Twitter.

According to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine, hydroxychloroquine is not a treatment for the virus and may cause additional health issues.

Madonna has not commented since the post was deleted. ABC News has reached out to her reps for comment.

By Andrea Tuccillo
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