ABOVE: Madonna. (Photo courtesy Madonna’s official Facebook page)
Pop icon Madonna has had her Instagram account flagged for spreading misinformation about the coronavirus, according to a recent BBC report.
In the now deleted post, the Material Girl claimed that a vaccine for COVID-19 had already been discovered but was being hidden from the general public to “let the rich get richer.” The video accompanying the post showed members of an organization that calls itself America’s Frontline Doctors “speaking outside the U.S. Supreme Court building at an event organized by Tea Party Patriots Action,” a right-wing political organization whose mission, according to the organization’s official website, is to “to equip Americans with the resources and training they need to be engaged citizens and effective activists.”
The clip also featured a Houston-based physician named Dr. Stella Immanuel, who claimed in the video that she “had successfully treated 350 coronavirus patients ‘and counting’ with hydroxychloroquine.” The clip, which had also been posted to and removed from other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, was also shared by President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. Trump Jr.’s Twitter account was restricted for 12 hours as a result of posting the video on his profile.
Fellow popstar Annie Lennox chastised the singer for sharing the video to her 15.4 million followers, writing “This is utter madness. I can’t believe that you are endorsing this dangerous quackery. Hopefully your site has been hacked and you’re just about to explain it.”
Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Madonna has taken to social media to share her thoughts on the ever-evolving global health crisis. Back in March, she posted a video of herself from her bathtub to Instagram, in which she mused that the coronavirus is “the great equalizer.” The singer has also made posts that advocate mask-wearing and social distancing, as well as display her philanthropic efforts, which include donating surgical masks to prison inmates and pledging $1.1 million toward the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
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View this post on InstagramNothing Compares to the first time…………….First Album cover ever! #staysafe
View this post on Instagram. Protect Inmates and Prison Staff as well. Lives are at stake. #covid19 #staysafe
In one of her COVID-19 related Instagram posts, Madonna said that she had tested positive for antibodies for the virus and claims that she had contracted the virus while on her Madame X concert tour.
“When you test positive for antibodies it means you had the virus[,] which I clearly did as I was sick at the end of my tour in Paris over seven weeks ago along with many other artists in my show[,] but at the time we all thought we had a very bad flu,” the singer wrote at the time.
With regard to her latest post, Instagram “blurred out the video with a caption saying ‘False Information’” and subsequently directed users to a separate page that refutes the claims made in the video.
