Daily US Times: Facebook has removed the page of Pete Evans, an Australian celebrity chef, after he repeatedly shared misinformation about the coronavirus.
Evans spread conspiracy theories about vaccines which are refuted by medical experts.
Previously, Facebook had taken down individual posts from Evans, who had about 1.5 million Facebook followers, deemed to be misinformation.
But the social network giant has now removed his entire page.
Facebook said in a statement: “We don’t allow anyone to share misinformation about Covid-19 that could lead to imminent physical harm or [about] Covid-19 vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts.”
The company said it had removed the page for “repeated violations” of its policies.
Evans had shared a range of debunked theories about the severity of the coronavirus, mask-wearing and Covid-19 vaccines, as well as incorrect claims about 5G networks.
Pete Evans came to prominence as a judge for 10 seasons on Australian cooking show My Kitchen Rules.
His account on Instagram – with 278,000 followers – remains active. Facebook also owns Instagram.
Evans’ critics have long called on Facebook to remove his access to the network for spreading false information.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, several Australian health bodies had criticised the chef – known as ‘Paleo Pete’ – for promoting pseudo-science about diets and cancer cures.
The Australian Medical Association in 2017 accused Evans of endangering lives with his false claims about the benefits of certain minerals and toxins in sunscreen.
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