Pop icon Madonna has been censured for sharing a video on Instagram in which doctors tout hydroxychloroquine as an effective treatment for individuals infected with coronavirus.
The clip shared by the pop star shows members of America's Frontline Doctors speaking at a gathering held outside the US Supreme Court. In it, Houston doctor Stella Immanuel says that she has used hydroxychloroquine to effectively treat 350 coronavirus patients "and counting."
America's Food and Drug Administration has cautioned against the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for COVID-19 outside of a hospital setting or a clinical trial due to risk of heart rhythm problems.
The singer shared the video with 15 million followers together with a post that claimed a vaccine for COVID-19 had been discovered but was being suppressed to "let the rich get richer."
Instagram blurred out the video with a caption stating, "false information." Users who viewed the post were directed to a page informing them that no vaccine for the novel coronavirus has been created.
Madonna's fans and peers expressed disbelief over the singer's suggestion of the existence of a coronavirus conspiracy.
"This is utter madness!!!," commented pop star Annie Lennox. "Hopefully your site has been hacked and you're just about to explain it."
The post was later removed from Madonna's Instagram account. The same video was previously shared by Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter, landing the president's son a 12-hour ban from using the social media app.
In a move that could draw criticism from defenders of the right to free speech, both Facebook and Twitter have removed the video from their sites after declaring it to be false information.
According to Simone Gold, leader of America's Frontline Doctors, the group's website was shut down yesterday by host Squarespace over claims the site's terms of service had been violated.
Yesterday some of the doctors featured in the banned video met with Vice-President Mike Pence.
Following the meeting, the group's leader Simone Gold tweeted: "We have just met with Vice President Mike Pence to request the administration's assistance in empowering doctors to prescribe hydroxychloroquine without political obstruction. We also discussed the recent censorship of doctors on social media platforms."