Facebook shut down the page of former celebrity chef Pete Evans. The former judge of the cooking show My Kitchen Rules was booted for repeatedly sharing what Facebook says is coronavirus “misinformation.”
“We don’t allow anyone to share misinformation about Covid-19 that could lead to imminent physical harm or Covid-19 vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts,” a Facebook spokesperson said when asked about the censorship.
“We have clear policies against this type of content and we’ve removed Chef Pete Evans’ Facebook Page for repeated violations of these policies.”
Facebook did not remove the celebrity chef from Instagram.
Posts on the page were repeatedly removed or labeled as “False” by Facebook’s third party fact-checking partners, but the Facebook Page and Instagram account were never suspended until Evans lost his Facebook Page in the last day.
The chef on Thursday urged people in Sydney to not get tested for COVID-19 amid the growing Northern Beaches cluster.
Evans shared a post to his Facebook page about two cases in the area.
“Outbreak… Two cases,” Evans wrote, followed by clown-face emojis.
“Can you see where this is heading again? Testing for the common cold? Do not get tested.”
It’s not yet known whether this post contributed to Facebook shutting down the page.
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