FB joins resistance to Bolsonaro virus claims

Major social media companies are taking aim at Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s dismissal of social distancing, joining others in the country who have lined up against his controversial stance regarding the coronavirus.

Facebook and Instagram removed posts by the far-right leader on Monday night that showed Bolsonaro walking around outside Brasilia on Sunday and mingling with groups.

It was yet another affront to World Health Organization recommendations to self-isolate as a means to contain the pandemic.

The companies’ move came one day after Twitter also removed some Bolsonaro posts.

Facebook, which owns Instagram, said in a statement that it removes content “that violates our community standards, which do not allow disinformation that might cause real damage to people”.

Twitter justified its decision by saying in a statement that its rules prohibit content that runs “against public health information given by official sources and can put people at greater risk of transmitting Covid19”.

Bolsonaro is one of few world leaders who say the virus itself will cause less harm than shutting down the economy.

In a national address on Tuesday night, while repeating that same argument, he changed his rhetoric, calling the pandemic he once described as “a little flu” as “the biggest challenge of our generation”.

His speech was met with potbanging protests for the 15th night in a row.

His defiance has received vocal backing from supporters – both on social media and in several cities where they staged demonstrations demanding life return to normal – but his attitude has also been rejected by mayors, state governors and judges.

Even some members of Bolsonaro’s own administration have insisted on broad lockdown measures that run contrary to his statements.