Facebook freezes Maduro's page over Covid claim

Facebook has frozen Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's page after he claimed without evidence that a herbal remedy could cure Covid-19.

He claimed in January that a thyme herb solution could cure the disease. He will be unable to post for 30 days.

The company said the leader had repeatedly violated its policies on coronavirus disinformation.

Mr Maduro is not the only world leader to face a pushback from social media companies over Covid.

US President Donald Trump and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro have also faced action over Covid posts.

A Facebook spokesperson told the BBC: "We removed a video posted to President Nicolas Maduro's page for violating our policies against misinformation about Covid-19 that is likely to put people at risk for harm.

"We follow guidance from the WHO [World Health Organization] that says there is currently no medication to cure the virus. Due to repeated violations of our rules, we are also freezing the page for 30 days, during which it will be read-only."