Facebook has frozen the president of Venezuela's page for repeatedly promoting a 'miracle' herbal treatment for COVID-19
- Facebook froze the page of Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro on Saturday.
- Maduro was suspended after he posted a video touting a herbal remedy as a "miracle" COVID-19 treatment.
- Venezuela's government accused Facebook of censorship.
Facebook has blocked the president of Venezuela from posting on his page for 30 days.
President Nicolas Maduro had his account frozen on Saturday after he posted a video promoting a substance called Carvativir, which he described as a "miracle" treatment for COVID-19.
Reuters, the first outlet to report Maduro's suspension, said that in the video Maduro called Carvativir "miracle drops" that could be used to both treat and prevent coronavirus. Carvativir is an oral solution derived from the herb thyme, and doctors have said Maduro's claims are unsubstantiated.
"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," a Facebook spokesperson told Insider.
"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."
Maduro has been touting Carvativir extensively since late January, and in February he railed against Facebook for "censoring" videos he posted about the substance.
Venezuela's communications minister Freddy Ñáñez attacked Facebook's intervention on Twitter, saying it not only constituted an act of "censorship" but also "proof of an extension of the blockade and boycott the American empire is illegally implementing against our people."
Ruqayyah Moynihan contributed to this report.