An injunction obtained by the Attorney General’s Office (AGU), on Monday (19), in a decision issued by the 20th Federal Court of Rio de Janeiro, requires the removal of false publications that linked vaccines against Covid-19 to the alleged development. from U.S “Vaccine-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome”Or “HIV”. The text was posted on a website. The decision also includes the site’s Telegram channel.
According to a survey conducted by the Arabian Gulf University, the post spread on other social media networks and reached at least three million people. The injunction also requires the removal of 20 other posts from the website containing false information about vaccines within 24 hours of notifying officials, on pain of paying a daily fine of 10,000 Brazilian reais, for each post kept online, in case of non-compliance. With the decision. Furthermore, the injunction prohibits those responsible for the channels from publishing new posts spreading false content on the subject.
This measure was proposed by the National Prosecutor’s Office of the Union for the Defense of Democracy (PNDD), affiliated with the African Union, based on information collected by the Secretariat of Social Communications of the Presidency (Secom) within the scope of the Commission of Inquiry. Combating misinformation about the National Immunization Program and public health policies. This initiative is part of the Health with Science programme, an inter-ministerial program aimed at promoting and strengthening public health policies and appreciation of science.
In October, government monitoring began to detect a significant increase in references to the term “HIV” online, and after reviewing the data, the National Court’s website was identified as the source of the false information.
“It was subsequently verified that the website acted as a hub for a series of misinformation about content posted on Telegram and X [antigo Twitter] With the aim of discrediting the National Immunization Program and discouraging people from getting vaccinated, including in a manner linked to the international anti-vaccination movement through translated copies of texts published on foreign websites recognized as spreading disinformation on this subject.AGU stated, in a note.
In another memorandum, the African Union warned that in the proceeding in which vaccines were linked to AIDS, among other unfounded simulation theories, “Harm public health by raising doubts about the safety and effectiveness of immunizing agents and urging individuals to avoid vaccines and seek alternative treatments without proven effectiveness or posing risks to health. The Attorney General’s Office also notes that the decline in vaccination coverage has been verified in recent statements issued According to the Ministry of Health, it undermines herd immunity and increases the possibility of outbreaks of preventable diseases and the emergence of more dangerous and resistant strains of pathogens that vaccines protect against, putting people’s health at risk..
