Madonna’s post supporting a coronavirus conspiracy theory appears to have been removed, after it was flagged by Instagram for sharing false information.
The pop artist shared a video that had previously been supported by Donald Trump, about a fake cure for Covid-19.
In her post, Madonna called controversial Houston, Texas-based doctor Stella Immanuel – who appears in the video – her “hero”.
Immanuel has made a number of outlandish claims, including that the condition endometriosis is caused by “sex demons”.
She has also shared conspiracy theories about alien DNA and “demon sperm”. She has also frequently used her platform to spread homophobic and anti-transgender views, protesting against the legalisation of gay marriage and abortion on her YouTube page.
“This woman is my hero,” Madonna wrote. “Thank you Stella Immanuel.”
Her post appeared blurred with a warning over the video: “False Information.”
The text from Instagram continued: “Reviewed by independent fact-checkers.” When users click the button “See Why,” they were shown a list of falsehoods in Madonna’s post.
Fact-checkers note that there is not yet a cure for Covid-19, as the post claims, and that the drug hydroxychloroquine is not a cure.
Madonna has made previous controversial claims about coronavirus, including her belief that it is “the great equaliser”.
The Independent has contacted her representatives for comment.
Donald Trump Jr was suspended from Twitter this week after he declared the video of Stella Immanuel a “must watch”, for posting “misleading information”.
The US president himself retweeted the video, which was also flagged by Twitter.
Twitter confirmed that it had temporarily locked Donald Trump Jr’s account.
“The Tweet is in violation of our COVID-19 misinformation policy,” a spokesperson said. “The account will be locked until the account owner removes the Tweet.”
