Both Facebook and Alphabet Inc's YouTube said the video, which was
recorded on Thursday, violated their policies.
"Our policies don't allow claims that COVID-19 vaccines kill or
seriously harm people," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement
on Monday.
YouTube confirmed that it had taken the same step later in the day.
"We removed a video from Jair Bolsonaro's channel for violating our
medical disinformation policy regarding COVID-19 for alleging that
vaccines don't reduce the risk of contracting the disease and that
they cause other infectious diseases," YouTube said in a statement.
According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS),
COVID-19 vaccines approved by health regulators are safe for most
people, including those living with HIV, the virus that causes
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, known as AIDS.
Bolsonaro's office did not respond immediately to a request for
comment outside normal hours.
In July, YouTube removed videos from Bolsonaro's official channel in
which he recommended using hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin against
COVID-19, despite scientific proof that these drugs are not
effective in treating the disease.
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Since then, Bolsonaro has
avoided naming both drugs on his live
broadcasts, saying the videos could be removed
and advocating "early treatment" in general for
COVID-19. Bolsonaro, who tested
positive for the coronavirus in July last year, had credited his
taking hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, for his mild
symptoms. While Bolsonaro himself last January said that he wouldn't
take any COVID-19 vaccine, he did vow to quickly inoculate all
Brazilians.
In addition to removing the video, YouTube has suspended Bolsonaro
for seven days, national newspapers O Estado de S. Paulo and O Globo
reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
YouTube did not respond to a separate Reuters request for comment
regarding the suspension on Monday night.
(Reporting by Pedro Fonseca in Rio de Janeiro; Additional reporting
by Gram Slattery in Rio de Janeiro and Anthony Boadle in Brasilia;
Writing by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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