Social media app Instagram censored a post made by President Jair Bolsonaro’s official account on Monday night, labeling it as “fake news.” Mr. Bolsonaro republished information from Ceará state lawmaker André Fernandes, claiming that the number of deaths from respiratory diseases in the state had fallen between 2019 and 2020.
An independent fact-checker debunked the information and Instagram overlaid a fake news warning on the president’s post. According to Agência Lupa, the death count used from 2019 included mortality from cancer, Aids, and other diseases. According to official records, deaths from respiratory diseases in Ceará increased by 409 people this year, in comparison to the first four months of 2019.
Last week, the state government of Ceará announced it was planning to sue Bolsonaro-supporting member of Congress Carla Zambelli, after she made the baseless accusation that the state was burying empty coffins in order to inflate the Covid-19 death toll.
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