The Facebook page of controversial former Liberal MP Craig Kelly has been nuked after the company accused him of breaching misinformation policies regarding the COVID vaccine.
“We don’t allow anyone, including elected officials, to share misinformation about COVID-19 that could lead to imminent physical harm or COVID-19 vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement to the ABC.
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“We have clear policies against this type of content and have removed Mr Kelly’s Facebook Page for repeated violations of this policy.”
This isn’t the first time Kelly has been banned for violating the site’s misinformation policies. The controversial MP copped a week-long ban as a result of three posts relating to unproven COVID claims back in February.
This time around it appears the page has been completely removed, which seems like a more permanent solution to the issue.
Although Facebook has removed his main page – which regularly has the highest engagement of any Australian politician’s Facebook page – his secondary page is still active at the time of publishing.
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Kelly has released a scathing statement in response, slamming Facebook’s decision as “censorship.”
“This was the most popular, highly used political Facebook page in the country,” he told the ABC.
“They have basically burnt and torched and incinerated and obliterated from the record, previous comments and previous things that I’d made.”
Additionally, he took to Instagram to further rant about the ban, somehow likening himself to a war veteran.
“YESTERDAY OUR VETERANS WERE INSULTED ???? TODAY MY MAIN FACEBOOK PAGE IS BANNED ????,” he wrote.
https://www.instagram.com/p/COHWl7PD2_b/
The news comes after Kelly resigned from the Liberal Party back in February after heavy criticism of his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the way he handled a sexual assault allegation made against a member of his staff.
Kelly denied he was spreading misinformation, citing that it is simply a difference of opinion.
“It is not misinformation if you have a difference of opinion,” he said. “The idea that they are some purveyors of all truth is just absolutely outrageous.”
In addition to Kelly’s page, Facebook also moved to permanently delete controversial chef Pete Evans’ account earlier this year for similar reasons.
More to come.