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Facebook has removed a page belonging to conspiracy theorist David Icke after he spread unsubstantiated stories about COVID-19.
Icke, who has said the world is run by reptiles and the Royal Family are lizards, has claimed 5G is linked to
coronavirus
.
The video in which he reportedly made that comment was later removed from YouTube.
In another video, on his website, he says he "obviously" does not believe there actually is a virus, and says lockdowns are a way of destroying people's livelihoods and making them dependent on the state.
Image:Icke (top right) when he was a TV presenter in 1983
Facebook said it had removed the page "for repeatedly violating our policies on harmful misinformation".
After it was taken down, Icke described the social network as "fascist" and tweeted a picture of Mark Zuckerberg with the caption: "The little boy gofer for global tyranny."
The now deleted page had almost 800,000 followers, but another one, with more than 60,000, remains active.
Last month, NHS England's medical director said he was
"outraged and disgusted"
at conspiracy theorists who claim 5G masts are the true cause of **COVID-19
** .
Professor Stephen Powis said the "5G story is complete and utter rubbish", adding: "It's nonsense. It's the worst kind of fake news."
During the lockdown, a number of mobile masts have been attacked across the country, including one covering the area near Birmingham's Nightingale Hospital.
Robots help COVID patients
Also last month, it emerged that an interview on London Live in which Icke shared unsubstantiated opinions on the causes of COVID-19 was being
investigated by media regulator Ofcom
.
Ofcom imposed a sanction on the channel's owner, ESTV, saying that Icke's words "risked causing significant harm to viewers".
The Centre for Countering Digital Hate said Icke's conspiracies about coronavirus had been viewed more than 30 million times.
Its chief executive, Imran Ahmed, said that misinformation "puts all of our lives at risk by encouraging the public not to comply with clinical guidance".
Hope Not Hate said it was "welcome news that Facebook have removed David Icke's page", adding: "He has promoted dangerous conspiracy theories, including the idea that COVID-19 is a hoax."
5G: What is it, what will it do, and why does it matter?
Icke, a former footballer and sports broadcaster, is also accused of making antisemitic remarks on social media.
Rachel Riley, TV presenter and campaigner against antisemitism welcomed Facebook's decision, saying: "The hate preacher was banned from Australia. Big arenas have rejected him, yet social media orgs allow him a megaphone (& pocket the profits). Facebook have finally deleted him today!!"
Twitter, when asked why it had not removed Icke's account, said it was "prioritising the removal of COVID-19 content when it has a call to action that could potentially cause harm".
It added: "As we've said previously, we will not take enforcement action on every tweet that contains incomplete or disputed information about COVID-19.
"Since introducing these policies on 18 March, we've removed more than 2,200 tweets.
"As we've doubled down on tech, our automated systems have challenged more than 3.4 million accounts which were targeting discussions around COVID-19 with spammy or manipulative behaviours."
