<ul class="summary-list"><li>Argentinian authorities charged <keyword id="12024133" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="andreas-kalcker" source="Orion">Andreas Kalcker</keyword> with falsely promoting toxic bleach as a medical cure.</li><li>The investigation was launched after a boy, 5, died after being given the substance by his parents. </li><li><keyword id="12024134" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="chlorine-dioxide" source="Orion">Chlorine dioxide</keyword> is a type of industrial bleaching agent commonly used to treat wood products.</li></ul>Argentinian authorities have charged <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/andreas-kalcker">Andreas Kalcker</a>, a key figure in a sprawling movement that hails toxic bleach as a "miracle" medical treatment.The charges follow a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mms-bleach-advocate-andres-kalcker-investigated-after-2-deaths-2021-2">seven-month-long investigation</a> by the Unidad Fiscal para la Investigación de Delitos contra el Medio Ambiente (UFIMA), which investigates medical crimes in <keyword id="11935753" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="argentina" source="Orion">Argentina</keyword>. The investigation was launched after the August 2020 death of a five-year-old boy in Neuquen, western Argentina, of multiple organ failure consistent with chlorine dioxide poisoning.The child's parents believed, on the basis of misinformation spread by Kalcker and others, that the substance had the power to ward off COVID-19, legal documents previously reviewed by Insider said.An Argentinian judicial source told Insider that Kalcker has been charged with illegal practice of the medical profession and selling fake medicines.The offenses, if found to have resulted in a person's death, carry a maximum of 25 years.Kalcker did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. In past comments to Insider he has denied recommending that people take the substances in large enough doses to cause harm. Kalcker, alongside several Argentinian nationals, is accused by authorities of playing a key role in promoting chlorine dioxide in the country as a cure for various illnesses, including COVID-19, in conferences, books, and on social media.According to the legal documents seen by Insider, Kalcker is believed to reside in Switzerland.In March, police raided properties in Buenos Aires and the western city of Mar del Plata where chlorine dioxide was being manufactured and sold. Officials conducted new raids on 13 properties across Argentina on Thursday, <a href="https://chequeado.com/el-explicador/a-partir-de-una-investigacion-de-chequeado-la-justicia-encontro-dioxido-de-cloro-en-13-allanamientos/">Argentina's Chequeado news site reported</a>, which the judicial source confirmed to Insider. Chlorine dioxide is a type of industrial bleaching agent commonly used to treat wood products. Public health authorities around the world have issued warnings about taking the substance, with the US Food and Drugs Administration warning that it can be fatal if taken in large doses.In recent years, a movement originating in a fake Florida "church" has promoted the substance it calls "Miracle Mineral Solution" (MMS), or "Chlorine Dioxide Solution" (CDS), as a cure for a range of illnesses and condition.Insider has chronicled the key role played by Kalcker in popularizing chlorine dioxide as a miracle cure in Latin America, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bleach-miracle-cure-movement-powerful-latin-america-coronavirus-pandemic-2021-5">particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic</a>. Enlisting the support of local celebrities, renegade medics and military figures, the movement has promoted the substance on social media, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/patients-fed-toxic-bleach-in-facebook-group-pictures-2021-1?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">with pages with thousands of followers pushing</a>the substance across the continent. In Bolivia, the misinformation campaign led by Kalcker succeeded in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-bleach-coronavirus-embraced-misinformation-2020-9">persuading the government to legitimize chlorine dioxide</a> as a COVID-19 treatment despite the absence of any evidence that it is safe or effective as a medical treatment. Earlier this year Insider reported that MMS advocates were focusing their efforts to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bleach-miracle-cure-movement-powerful-latin-america-coronavirus-pandemic-2021-5">promote the substance in Mexico</a>.

A leader of a movement touting toxic bleach as a 'miracle' COVID-19 cure has been charged following a 5-year-old boy's death

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A movement that claims industrial bleach is a miracle cure is gaining strength in Latin America.</li><li>The Bolivian government's endorsement of the substance has given it the appearance of credibility. </li><li>It's a stark illustration of how the pandemic has been used to spread medical misinformation. </li></ul>Last month, the Justice Department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/florida-family-indicted-selling-toxic-bleach-fake-miracle-cure-covid-19-and-other">announced the indictment</a> of a Florida man, Mark Grenon, and his three adult sons for allegedly marketing a type of toxic bleach, <keyword id="9532982" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="chlorine-dioxide">chlorine dioxide</keyword>, as a COVID-19 cure. For several years, the indictment said, Grenon sold the bleach under the guise of a church called Genesis II. He told prosecutors that the church "has nothing to do with religion," and that he founded it to "legalize the use of MMS" and avoid "going to jail."MMS stands for "<keyword id="9102985" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="miracle-mineral-solution">Miracle Mineral Solution</keyword>," the name Grenon's believers use for toxic bleach. The substance is usually used to treat wood products, has no medical value, and can be fatal if consumed in large doses. MMS followers believe it has healing powers. The indictment might have marked the end of Grenon's attempts to falsely market the bleach as a miracle cure. But over in Latin America, the legacy of Grenon's Genesis II church is stronger than ever. It is perhaps one of the most shocking triumphs of a medical misinformation movement to date.<div type="image" title="Mark Grenon" height="1466" width="1955" msid="83231218" hostid="261"></div>The movement has enlisted the support of politicians, army officers, local celebrities, and a group of renegade medics who call themselves the Global Health and Life Coalition, or Coalición Mundial Salud y Vida (COMUSAV) in Spanish. COMUSAV is run by Patricia Callisperis, a Bolivian medic.The movement has prompted warnings from the <a href="https://www.paho.org/en/news/5-8-2020-paho-warns-against-use-chlorine-products-treatments-covid-19">Pan American Health Organization</a> and Spain's medical watchdog, the <a href="https://www.cgcom.es/sites/default/files/u183/np_dioxido_de_cloro_mms_26_8_2020.pdf">Organización Médica Colegial,</a> that the substance has no proven medical benefits and can be deadly. Several national health ministries in South America, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-bleach-coronavirus-embraced-misinformation-2020-9">including Bolivia</a>, have also issued warnings about consuming the bleach.Yet the movement has gained ground, activists told Insider, sweeping through parts of the region where access to healthcare is limited, and distrust of authorities is widespread.<h2>A vast new market for the bleach treatment </h2><keyword id="9954139" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="andreas-kalcker">Andreas Kalcker</keyword>, a self-described biophysicist, is a longtime associate of Genesis II. For years he has promoted chlorine dioxide treatments - which he calls CDS - on his website and social media.He has no medical credentials, and has used fake certificates bought online to pass himself off as an expert, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5kxi5Dz_MY&amp;feature=youtu.beu.be">Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported in 2015.</a>Last year Insider documented how <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-bleach-coronavirus-embraced-misinformation-2020-9">he played a key role in popularizing the substance</a> during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in <keyword id="104154" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bolivia">Bolivia</keyword> in TV appearances and on <keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword>.Kalcker has found so much success in hawking the substance in Bolivia that the left-wing MAS political party <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-minister-says-toxic-mms-bleach-for-covid-19-2020-12">approved it as an official COVID-19 treatment</a> last year, in an effort to politically capitalize on the popularity.<div type="image" title="Andreas Kalcker" height="1209" width="1613" msid="83231219" hostid="261"></div>It was in Bolivia that Kalcker partnered with COMUSAV to champion the bleach.In March, in a hotel in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, COMUSAV held what it billed as the largest conference yet on the medical use of chlorine dioxide.It featured seminars on how to use toxic bleach to treat autism and during pregnancies, and attracted advocates of the substance from countries including <keyword id="3746" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mexico">Mexico</keyword>, Argentina, and Peru.Prominent members of Genesis II were listed as contributors at the event. They included the church's founder, Jim Humble, a former Scientologist who claimed to have discovered the bleach's healing powers on a jungle mission; and Kerri Rivera, a Canadian who has marketed bleach "enemas" for autistic children. Humble, Kalcker, and Rivera have all been ousted from most mainstream social-media platforms. Insider last year revealed that Rivera was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mms-bleach-advocates-telegram-photos-child-injuries-2020-4">selling the bleach on Telegram</a>, the encrypted app that's also been a refuge for ISIS terrorists and the far right.Neither Kalcker, Humble, nor Rivera responded to Insider's multiple requests for comment for this story.While the COMUSAV conference was being held, Kalcker also embarked on a tour of Bolivian public universities, championing the toxic substance which he claims is being suppressed as part of a conspiracy by global elites. It was part of a renewed effort to capitalize on the substance's popularity in the pandemic and to expand the movement, with COMUSAV groups springing up in countries across the region.Some public university labs in <a href="https://eldeber.com.bo/pais/upea-presento-produccion-de-dioxido-de-cloro-como-medicina-preventiva-contra-el-covid-19_201354">Bolivia have even started making chlorine dioxide</a> for pharmacies, a clear sign of the support authorities have given to the dangerous campaign.<div type="image" title="MMS, Bolivia" height="1354" width="2000" msid="83231220" hostid="261"></div><h2>Spreading across Latin America</h2>It's not just in Bolivia where toxic bleach has champions at the highest political levels. In May, Peru's congress launched an official inquiry to establish if the substance can cure COVID-19, <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/4avw7b/peru-is-officially-investigating-if-bleach-can-cure-covid">Vice News reported</a>.But it's in Mexico, the second-most populous Latin American country, that the movement is spreading most quickly, said the founder of Anticlo2, an activist group tracking the spread of COVID-19 misinformation in Latin America on the Discord app. Insider is withholding the activist's identity because of threats to their security. "Measuring popularity can be difficult as there are no official numbers. But I take as a metric the number of points of sale that they advertise," the activist said. "And in recent months they are advertising many more points of sale in Mexico than before."Advocates of chlorine dioxide have enlisted the support not just of politicians and medics, but also of media figures and influencers across the region, to popularize the substance:<ul><li>In Colombia, when the model and DJ Natalia París was criticized for hosting a January party on a private yacht in violation of COVID-19 rules, she claimed that the chlorine dioxide she had consumed protected her and guests from infection. Days later, country authorities <a href="https://www.sic.gov.co/slider/superindustria-ordena-natalia-par%C3%ADs-el-cese-inmediato-de-la-promoci%C3%B3n-del-producto-di%C3%B3xido-de-cloro">ordered her</a> to stop promoting the bleach on social media.</li><li>In Mexico, the <a href="https://www.enelradar.com/chismes/Aseguran-que-Veronica-del-Castillo-vendio-Dioxido-de-Cloro-en-pleno-funeral-de-Isela-Vega-20210312-0011.html">actor Verónica del Castillo</a> and an army officer, <a href="https://www.diarioelindependiente.mx/2021/02/realizan-foro-sobre-dioxido-de-cloro-en-bcs-insisten-en-que-es-efectivo-contra-covid-19">Coronel Pedro Chavez Zabala</a>, have recommended taking the bleach at press events and on social media.</li><li>And in Argentina, a TV host drank from a bottle of the bleach live on air last August, as seen here:</li></ul><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Cristian (@Cristian_2_27) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1291432896356548610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 6, 2020</a></blockquote>Another member of Anticlo2, based in Mexico, told Insider that the popularity of the substance was mainly spreading in rural communities, and being promoted and sold on social media. This activist also requested to remain anonymous for safety reasons, but their identity is known to Insider."The main problem is in small towns where the majority of people only have basic education, since people stop vaccinating at the request of rural doctors who use false <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> and misinformation about vaccines to offer ClO2 [chlorine dioxide] as a remedy," the activist said.<h2>Children have died after consuming the bleach</h2>The impact of the wave of MMS misinformation in Latin America is unclear, but reports continue to emerge of fatalities caused to those who've consumed chlorine dioxide.Local media in Oruro, southern Bolivia, <a href="https://radioluisdefuentes.com/locales/hrsjd-tarija-director-de-terapia-intensiva-afirma-que-el-85-de-las-personas-que-fallecieron-por-covid-19-en-el-hospital-habian-tomado-dioxido-de-cloro/">reported in March that 85% of people who died</a> with COVID-19 after being admitted to the ICU had taken chlorine dioxide. In February, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mms-bleach-advocate-andres-kalcker-investigated-after-2-deaths-2021-2">authorities in Argentina opened an investigation</a> into Kalcker and several Argentinian nationals after a man, 50, and a boy, 5, died after consuming the bleach.<a href="https://www.pagina12.com.ar/343827-una-nena-de-8-meses-fue-internada-de-urgencia-despues-de-hab">And last week, an eight-month-old baby</a> in the Argentinian city of Rosario was hospitalized after consuming the bleach in a bottle prepared by her mother. The woman said she had given the child the substance by accident.<h2>MMS advocates are profiting off Facebook</h2>The success of the movement can be partly attributed to Facebook's failure to take action quickly, critics said.On Facebook, MMS advocates have been able to profit from the sales of the bleach, linking to pages where it can be bought, directing people to private chats to negotiate sales, and charging around $60 for video "consultations" on how to take the bleach, the Anticlo2 activists said.Despite Facebook's banning misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic from its platform, COMUSAV has been able to openly promotes the toxic bleach in national, local, and regional groups.Several such groups, with tens of thousands of members, were removed by the site after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/patients-fed-toxic-bleach-in-facebook-group-pictures-2021-1">an Insider investigation in March</a>. But since then, many more have emerged, raising questions about the site's willingness to proactively enforce its disinformation policies.Carmen Scurato, a senior counsel at the Free Press nonprofit, said Facebook has been slow to remove disinformation and misinformation that aren't in English. "One of the things that we found in our research was that when Facebook in particular said we got rid of misinformation, they did not replicate those enforcement actions in Spanish or in other languages. So that content was still able to spread on the platform, just not so much in English," she told Insider.Facebook removed the new groups when Insider alerted the platform to their presence. "We have taken action on the accounts, Pages, and Groups brought to our attention for violating our policies. We have over 35,000 people dedicated to keep our community safe, a task particularly important during the COVID19 pandemic," a company spokesman said.<h2>Infighting and divisions, but the movement remains strong</h2>As the movement gains strength in Latin America, it appears to be marred by infighting and even a schism, said the Anticlo2 activists. They told Insider that Kalcker now leads a group focused on promoting MMS in Mexico, while another group, led by the COMUSAV founder Patricia Callisperis, was promoting it in several other countries.The groups operate separately, the activists said, but the movement remains powerful, and both groups are both profiting from the spread of misinformation about chlorine dioxide.In a statement to Insider, Callisperis denied falling out with Kalcker, but distanced herself from him."He simply does not understand scientific research and published together with others an article not authorized by the Bolivian team," she said.Jim Humble, the secretive founder of the Genesis II church, has also been playing an increasingly important role in promoting MMS for Callisperis' group, the Anticlo2 founder said. They pointed to a lengthy speech delivered by Humble at the COMUSAV conference in March, which was streamed by several COMUSAV Facebook groups. Callisperis denied the claim, saying: "Jim has nothing to do with COMUSAV."<h2>How will this end?</h2>The success of the MMS movement shows the double-sided effect the pandemic has had on medical misinformation.For some of its promoters, like Grenon, the pandemic has brought new, negative attention from law enforcement. But others, like Kalcker, have been able to exploit people's fears in the pandemic and, aided by the laxness of social-media giants in enforcing policies and the cynicism of political actors, have turbocharged their movements.Where do they go from here? The founder of Anticlo2 warned of the movement's continued rise, saying governments across Latin America were underestimating the danger the activists pose."I think the MMS is going to continue spreading because in no country in the region are they connecting the dots. Nobody is noticing the international reach it has, all countries are underestimating it," they said."Latin American countries do not realize that the promoters of MMS capitalize on the fear that the pandemic generates in some sectors of the people."

A dangerous movement hyping toxic bleach as a 'miracle cure' is more powerful than ever after exploiting the pandemic in Latin America

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="1440804" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Pete-Evans">Pete Evans</keyword> is a celebrity chef in <keyword id="6355478" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="australia">Australia</keyword> who claims to promote wellness on his podcast.</li><li>On the podcast he interviews notorious conspiracy theorists who spread <keyword id="9745851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="medical-misinformation">medical misinformation</keyword>. </li><li><keyword id="1591083" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Podcasts">Podcasts</keyword> like Evans' often evade the scrutiny that social media accounts are subject to. </li></ul>In an edition of his podcast, "Evolve," last November, Australian celebrity chef and lifestyle influencer Pete Evans introduced his latest guest, "biophysicist" and researcher <keyword id="9954139" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="andreas-kalcker">Andreas Kalcker</keyword>. On the show, Kalcker claimed to possess a "100% effective solution" to the coronavirus, chlorine dioxide. He claimed that shadowy forces controlled by the International Monetary Fund were seeking to suppress the substance.Their goal, he said, was to enrich themselves and perpetuate the "plandemic," a term for the coronavirus pandemic popularized by conspiracy theorists.Evans listened respectfully, not pushing back on any of Kalcker's claims as they became increasingly outlandish. He did not tell listeners that the substance his guest was promoting, chlorine dioxide, is a toxic bleach blamed for several deaths, that Kalcker has no medical credentials, or that the research he cited is at best disputed.The episode was an example of how conspiracy theorists have found safe haven in podcasts even as other platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter have forced them out.His podcast is listed as one of Apple's most popular on nutrition. It used to be available on Spotify but was removed in January.Many listeners were likely drawn to Evans' show because they knew him as judge of cooking show "My Kitchen Rules."Besides information on diet and wellness tips, listeners are also introduced to medical misinformation, conspiracy theories, and bogus cures. Evans did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Insider, nor did Apple.Acast, a podcast platform that hosts Evans' show, said they would be removing it from the platform in April. <h2>On podcasts, misinformation flourishes</h2>The spread of misinformation on social media platforms received renewed attention as the pandemic swept the globe.Public health authorities have battled to rebut misinformation about lockdown measures, the source of the virus, the effectiveness of masks, and the vaccines' safety developed to suppress it. Sites like Facebook have banned content containing false claims about the vaccines. Less remarked-on is the role of podcasts, where guests and hosts on hugely popular shows spread misinformation about the coronavirus unchallenged. Sean Creevy is the director of Kinzen, a company that helps clients monitor and combat disinformation. He said that podcasts allow guests to establish a particularly close bond with followers. "What makes podcasting so unique is that it's incredibly intimate. That person's voice comes right through into our earbud. And so it's easy as listeners to let our guard down. Also, there isn't as much research on the problem of misinformation in podcasts, and so as a citizenry, we are probably less aware of the threat compared with the big platforms," he said. Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's former chief strategist, used his Apple-hosted podcast, "War Room," to spread false claims about the coronavirus and stir fears of election fraud.<a href="https://www.insider.com/joe-rogan-alex-jones-spread-conspiracy-theories-challenge-podcast-2020-10">Joe Rogan has hosted Alex Jones,</a> the conspiracy theorist and Infowars frontman banned from social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook for inciting violence.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/controversial-research-program-boosts-unlicensed-treatments-say-critics-2021-1">Insider reported in January</a> that Rogan also hosted the owner of a clinic that sells stem cell treatments for conditions where there is no evidence it is effective. <div type="image" title="Joe Rogan Alex Jones" height="1080" width="1440" msid="81603783" hostid="261"></div>It's an area where little research has been done, so the problem's extent is unknown. The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-conspiracy-theories-media-misinformation-social-media-b7bb0ace8a617af733357f6ee15aca03">Associated Press f</a>ound several popular podcasts on major platforms spreading misinformation about the presidential election in January. The pandemic has seen strange connections between wellness influencers with established media profiles, like Evans, and right-wing movements. Hostility to scientific and medical elites is their common cause. Ariel Bogle, who monitors disinformation at Australia's ASPI Cyber Policy think tank, said that several influencers like Evans had started to embrace more controversial forms of medical misinformation."Many of the accounts that sell forms of wellness necessarily have some level of skepticism or mistrust of the medical establishment (justified or not), as they must offer an alternative," Bogle said. "For some, there does seem to have been a veer into more clearly conspiratorial content during the pandemic, whether it be QAnon, conspiracies about vaccination etc."She said that, to an extent, podcasts are less of a problem than other types of information because they are less shareable."Audio can't really spread or be amplified in quite the same way that visual media can be on a platform like Facebook, for example. It's not quite so replicable and easily and quickly consumed," she said. Nonetheless, she added, being associated with prestigious brands like Apple or Spotify confers an air of legitimacy.This can attract a mainstream audience that isn't available to accounts on fringe platforms where conspiracy theorists congregate, such as Parler. <h2>The challenge of moderation</h2>While social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook use automated techniques to track problematic keywords and block networks of "bot" accounts, policing content on podcasts is harder."The biggest barrier is the cost of transcribing the audio from a podcast into text format, which can then be more easily searched," he explained. "These costs are not insignificant, and when a platform has to consider transcribing millions of podcasts, those costs quickly become extraordinarily high."He suggested that one option is targeting podcasts that had been repeatedly flagged and monitoring those closely.Another difficulty is drawing the line between content that contains dangerous falsehoods and that which is controversial and, to some, highly offensive but a legitimate expression of freedom of speech. <h2>Evans continues to host conspiracy theorists </h2>As Evans has embraced medical misinformation and conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic, his mainstream reputation has been damaged. He was barred from Facebook in December, Instagram in January, and his podcast removed from Spotify the same month. But despite losing his social media accounts, he continues to use his podcast to court a new audience among fans of conspiracy theories and supporters of populist political movements. Among the guests in January was Gareth Icke, an anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown activist from the UK. Icke's father is the notorious conspiracy theorist David Icke, who believes that a cabal of lizard-men control the world. Evans has ambitions to take his political activity beyond his podcast. In February, he announced that he was considering a Senate run representing The Great Australian Party, led by the anti-vaccination MP Rod Culleton.Bogle, the disinformation analyst, said of Evans: "He says outrageous things, gets covered for them, and his status grows - which he profits from."

An Australian celebrity lifestyle influencer is hosting some of the world's most notorious conspiracy theorists on his podcast

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Argentinian authorities raided labs producing a toxic bleach marketed as a miracle cure.</li><li>The substance was fueled by an online misinformation campaign and has been linked to two deaths.</li><li>Officials are investigating German national <keyword id="9954139" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="andreas-kalcker">Andreas Kalcker</keyword>'s role in promoting the bleach.</li></ul>Prosecutors in <keyword id="5927" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Argentina">Argentina</keyword> have raided labs suspected of producing and selling the fake "miracle mineral solution," a type of toxic bleach, as a treatment for COVID-19. Officials raided six places where the substance was suspected of being produced or sold, with five located in suburbs of the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires and one in the coastal city of Mar del Plata, <a href="https://www.diariolatercera.com.ar/nota/43109-golpe-a-la-estafa-y-la-charlataneria-desmantelan-laboratorios-que-elaboraban-dioxido-de-cloro">Argentinian newspaper La Tercera first reported Tuesday.</a>The details of the raids were confirmed to Insider by an Argentinian official. As part of the raids, investigators seized quantities of chlorine dioxide, as well as bottles in which the substance was to be sold branded as "Miracle Mineral Solutions" or "MMS" as a treatment for COVID-19 and other illnesses. The investigators also seized computers and electronic equipment.MMS is how the substance is known to a large network of conspiracy theorists and alternative health advocates, which mainly operates online. The movement <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mms-jim-humble-bleach-autism-cure-youtube-2019-5">was inspired by a fake church in Florida whose leader, Jim Humble, claimed to have discovered its miraculous healing powers while on a jungle mission. </a>The followers claim, groundlessly, that MMS is a miracle cure for a range of illnesses and conditions, and is being suppressed by medical authorities. Chlorine dioxide's common use is for treating wood products and stripping paint. Public-health authorities including the Pan American Health Organization, the US Food and Drugs Administration, and Spain's leading <a href="https://www.cgcom.es/sites/default/files/u183/informe_clo2._y_anexos_final.pdf">medical regulator, the Organización Médical Colegial,</a> have issued warnings that consuming chlorine dioxide is potentially lethal, and that there is no evidence that it's effective as a treatment for any illness. Marketing and selling it as a treatment is already banned in several countries. Insider has reported on how <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-bleach-coronavirus-embraced-misinformation-2020-9">advocates have seized on the COVID-19 pandemic to turbocharge</a> the popularity of the substance in South America using Facebook.Andreas Kalcker, a German self-described "biophysicist" with no medical qualifications, has played a key role in the campaign. Wednesday's raids were launched in connection with the investigation into Kalcker, which was started in EFbruary by Argentina's medical regulator a five-year-old boy and 50-year-old man died after taking the substance. Kalcker has not been charged with any offenses. Several Argentinian nationals are under investigation in connection with the premises raided on Wednesday, though no arrests were made and no charges were filed. Kalcker, who is believed to reside in Switzerland, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.In response to Argentinian authorities launching the investigation in February, he claimed that the doses he recommends of the substance is not toxic. He provided no evidence to substantiate this claim. Argentina's crackdown on the ring of advocates suspected of producing and promoting MMS contrasts with the response in neighboring Bolivia, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-minister-says-toxic-mms-bleach-for-covid-19-2020-12">where the government, ignoring a warning from its own ministry of health,</a> embraced the substance and licensed it for mass production. A conference for the promotion of MMS was held in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz De La Sierra on Wednesday. Listed speakers included Jim Humble, the founder of the Florida church where the movement originated. Last July Mark Grenon, a leader of the church, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mms-advocate-mark-grenon-charged-selling-bleach-coronavirus-cure-2020-7">was arrested in Colombia and charged with producing </a>and selling MMS,. The substance has been linked to seven deaths in the US.

Officials in Argentina raided labs producing toxic bleach as a COVID-19 treatment after a misinformation campaign fueled its popularity

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A controversial group is spreading misinformation about the bleach <keyword id="9532982" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="chlorine-dioxide">chlorine dioxide</keyword>. </li><li>Using Facebook, advocates claimed it can fight COVID-19 and also cancer.</li><li>The movement has found fertile ground in Latin America, despite efforts to stop it.</li><li>After being contacted by Insider, Facebook said it would remove the groups.</li></ul>A network of Facebook pages and groups in <keyword id="26945" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="South-America">South America</keyword> helped fuel the popularity of a dangerous chemical marketed as a cure for COVID-19, an Insider investigation found.The pages are linked to an alternative medicine advocate from Germany, <keyword id="9954139" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="andreas-kalcker">Andreas Kalcker</keyword>, who has promoted the substance chlorine dioxide, also known as Miracle Mineral Solution, or MMS.Advocates of the substance have long claimed it is a cure to almost any medical condition, including types of cancer. Their influence has been supercharged by the coronavirus pandemic, and nowhere more than in South America.Chlorine dioxide is an industrial substance often used to treat paper products, but its promoters claim it has miraculous powers. They say, groundlessly, that the findings are being suppressed.<h3>Facebook groups overflow with stories of taking bleach</h3>A snapshot into how extensively the misinformation has impacted South America can be found in a network of Facebook groups. They are linked to the Bolivian group <keyword id="10740167" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="comusav">Comusav</keyword> (Coalición Mundial Salud y Vida), a collection of renegade medics who promote chlorine dioxide.After being shown evidence of what was posted in the groups, Facebook shut many of them down, citing its policies against COVID-19 misinformation.On the pages, people share stories and advice on using the substance to treat illnesses including COVID-19.One image appears to show an elderly man in Colombia, described as a colon cancer patient, being treated with a solution of chlorine dioxide. <div type="image" title="Colombia CDS edit " height="2022" width="1079" msid="80790988" hostid="261"></div>Another apparently shows an elderly woman in Mexico after being treated with the bleach by a woman who claims to be associated with Comusav.<div type="image" title="comusav FB image crop" height="2222" width="1300" msid="80790989" hostid="261"></div>The images were shared with Insider by Fiona O'Leary, an activist who has long campaigned to raise awareness of the bogus medical use of bleach. In the groups, people asked Comusav representatives advice for using chlorine dioxide to treat illnesses including COVID-19, pneumonia, stomach upsets, heart disease and cancer. One asked how to treat animals using the substance. In some groups, Comusav representatives offered paid "consultations" on how to use the bleach. Public health organizations have issued warnings in response to the rise of chlorine dioxide. They include the Pan American Health Organization, the US Food and Drug Administration, and Spain's leading medical regulator, the Organización Médica Colegial de España.They say that there is no evidence that the substance is effective as a treatment for COVID-19 or any illness and condition, and that if taken in large doses can be fatal. But it has done little to stifle its popularity.The bleach has been linked to hospitalizations and deaths in Bolivia, while in Argentina <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mms-bleach-advocate-andres-kalcker-investigated-after-2-deaths-2021-2">authorities have opened an investigation into Kalcker</a> following the deaths of a five-year-old boy and a man of 50 who took the bleach.Insider last year revealed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-bleach-coronavirus-embraced-misinformation-2020-9?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">the role Kalcker and Comusav played in popularizing the substance in Bolivia</a>, where the substance has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-minister-says-toxic-mms-bleach-for-covid-19-2020-12">found favor with the recently-elected government</a>.Using Facebook, the group has spread beyond Bolivia, making its influence felt across South America.Its pages boasted tens of thousands of users in countries including Bolivia, Colombia, Argentina and Ecuador. One group for users in Mexico, seen by Insider, had 45,000 members.Comusav in a statement to Insider claimed that the bleach treatment works, which is contested by medical authorities like the FDA, which says it is toxic and that there is no evidence it is effective as a treatment for any illness.Though Facebook has introduced a number of policies that it says has reduced the ability of users to spread <keyword id="9745851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="medical-misinformation">medical misinformation</keyword>, advocates were still able to use the platform.Before their removal, the groups existed in the open, and users made no attempt to conceal their activities and beliefs.Dr Patricia Callisperis is a pediatrician in La Paz, Bolivia, and a founding member of Comusav. In an emailed statement to Insider she defended promoting the substance."We should all human beings fight for the truth, I can't understand why they want to hide one of the most important discoveries in medicine in the last 100 years," Callisperis wrote. She said that Comusav's Facebook pages were "dedicated to informing people" and "if there are hundreds of other groups in Latin America I am happy, more beings will be aware that there is a solution for many diseases."Kalcker in response to Insider's request for comment on the Facebook activity did not give a direct answer.Instead he referred to Mexican millionaire Pedro Luis Martín Bringas, who has also advocated for chlorine dioxide, and <a href="https://julioastillero.com/video-pedro-luis-martin-bringas-accionista-de-soriana-ofrece-10-mdp-a-quien-demuestre-que-el-dioxido-de-cloro-es-danino/">offered a large reward</a> to anyone who can convice him that it has killed anybody. (The substance's toxicity has long been established by medical authorities like the FDA.)Kalcker said: "I'm perfectly convinced that you can understand that I'm a very busy individual and would certainly appreciate not being bothered any more until that scientific toxicity documentation comes forth and the reward is effectively claimed."A Facebook spokesperson told Insider that the platform removed Comusav's pages and groups on the site after they were flagged by Insider. "We have removed accounts, Pages, and Groups related to an organization called Comusav for violating our regulated goods and harmful misinformation policies. We have over 35,000 people dedicated to keep our community safe, a task particularly important during the COVID19 pandemic" said the spokesperson. The majority of pages had indeed been removed as of Wednesday, but Insider found some smaller ones still active.Dr Fernando Patiño Sarcinelli is an oncologist in La Paz, Bolivia. He has spoken out against the use of chlorine dioxide. He told Insider that misinformation about the substance spread on Facebook was worsening the crisis for doctors struggling to treat a second wave of COVID-19 patients. "There were many cases that [where the treatment of patients] was complicated by using the drug - and many patients who are taking the drugs [chlorine dioxide] are postponing and not getting medical treatment under the false belief it is an effective treatment," he said.

South Americans used Facebook groups to share images and stories of using toxic bleach to treat COVID-19 and cancer after misinformation swept the continent

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Prosecutors in <keyword id="5927" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Argentina">Argentina</keyword> are investigating <keyword id="9954139" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="andreas-kalcker">Andreas Kalcker</keyword>, who popularized the bleach <keyword id="9532982" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="chlorine-dioxide">Chlorine Dioxide</keyword> as a COVID-19 treatment. </li><li>A boy, 5, and man, 50, died last year in Argentina after taking the substance. </li><li>Chlorine dioxide has soared in popularity in South America, despite prominent warnings.</li></ul>Prosecutors in Argentina are investigating Andreas Kalcker, a German self-described health researcher who popularized taking a type of bleach to treat COVID-19.The development comes after a 5-year-old boy and 50-year-old man died after taking the substance.Insider last year exposed how <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-bleach-coronavirus-embraced-misinformation-2020-9">Kalcker was an architect of the shocking surge in popularity in South America</a> of chlorine dioxide, also known as Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS).The substance is a type of bleach commonly used to treat paper products. However, an group of advocates, working mostly online, have convinced many that it has miraculous powers to cure diseases including COVID-19.Public health authorities including the <a href="https://health-desk.org/questions/why-is-chlorine-dioxide-dangerous-if-taken-for-covid-19/">Pan American Health Organization, Spain's Organización Médical Colegial, and the US Food and Drug Administration</a> have all rejected the claim.They say that there is no evidence that chlorine dioxide is effective as a treatment for COVID-19 or any illness, and warn that if taken in large doses it can be fatal. A spokesperson for the Argentine government confirmed to Insider that an investigation had been launched into Kalcker.The spokesperson represents the UFIMA agency (Unidad Fiscal para la Investigación de Delitos contra el Medio Ambiente) agency, which investigates medical crimes.The UFIMA spokesperson said that after an initial investigation, the matter was referred to federal prosecutors who probe serious crimes.Insider understands that Kalcker has not been formally charged with any crimes. According to the Argentinian legal documents seen by Insider, Kalcker is in Switzerland. In a response to Insider's request for comment, he did not directly address the allegations, but argued that chlorine dioxide in the doses he recommends is not toxic.In a statement to Insider last year he defended his promotion of MMS, claiming to have evidence of its effectiveness. He described campaigns to stop people from using it as a form of "genocide."The complaint was filed by Victor Castillejo Arias, a lawyer who told Insider that a relative of his fell seriously ill after taking chlorine dioxide.He shared the documents with Insider, which center on Kalcker's alleged role, through online statements and videos, conferences and books, in persuading people in Argentina that MMS has curative properties.The movement encouraged the parents of a five-year-old boy to give the child the substance to treat a cough, the documents say. The child, from Neuquen, western Argentina, was found to have died as a result of multiple organ failure consistent with chlorine dioxide poisoning in August last year, <a href="https://www.pagina12.com.ar/288249-neuquen-confirman-que-el-nino-de-plottier-murio-por-tomar-di">local media reported</a>.A 50-year old man from Jujuy, northwestern Argentina, had died only weeks before having taken the substance. Arias alleges that Kalcker is falsely posing as a medical authority, and profiting from the promotion of quack cures, in crimes <a href="https://www.infobae.com/sociedad/2021/01/21/denunciaron-al-descubridor-del-dioxido-de-cloro-como-solucion-milagrosa-contra-el-covid-y-a-quienes-lo-vendian/?outputType=amp-type&amp;__twitter_impression=truetrue">which local media report carry</a> a 25 year sentence if found to have caused deaths. Several Argentinian nationals are also under investigation following the complaint. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Luigino Bracci Roa (@lubrio) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1294781217297113088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2020</a></blockquote>In recent months the popularity of chlorine dioxide treatments has taken hold in Argentina, with a <a href="https://urgente24.com/actualidad/sociedad/2021/2/2/viviana-canosa-anuncio-que-vuelve-la-tv-que-canal-la-contrato-en-que-horario-11862.html">TV presenter consuming a bottle live on air,</a> and a judge in <a href="https://www.latinpost.com/articles/149052/20210112/covid-19-patient-dies-judge-argentina-forces-clinic-inject-bleach.htm">Buenos Aires controversially overriding</a> medics to order a clinic to administer the bleach to 92-year-old man dying of COVID-19. Kalcker has long been among the most prominent advocates of chlorine dioxide treatments, which he calls CDS. Last year, Kalcker focused <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mms-bleach-advocates-exploiting-pandemic-sell-2020-7">his attentions on promoting the bleach as a COVID-19 cure in South America,</a> as the pandemic swept the continent.His book, "Forbidden Health," has previously been banned by Amazon for promoting <keyword id="9745851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="medical-misinformation">medical misinformation</keyword>. In Bolivia, Kalcker's teamed up with a group of medics called COMUSAV to advocate for chlorine dioxide treatments. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-victorious-mas-mms-bleach-virus-treatment-2020-10">Their campaign gained traction with lawmakers from the left-wing populist MAS party</a>.After winning the presidency in last year's election, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-minister-says-toxic-mms-bleach-for-covid-19-2020-12">MAS has approved chlorine dioxide as a COVID-19 treatment,</a> overruling an earlier warning from the country's health ministry about its dangers. Experts have told Insider that social media misinformation is fuelling the movement, alongside fear of COVID-19 and lack of access to healthcare. Last year <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mms-advocate-mark-grenon-charged-selling-bleach-coronavirus-cure-2020-7">Mark Grenon, another prominent advocate of the bleach cure from Florida,</a> was arrested in Colombia after being charged by investigators in the US.They allege that chlorine dioxide treatments have played a role in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mms-bleach-killed-7-americans-new-from-colombia-arrest-2020-8">seven deaths in the US</a>.Ruqayyah Moynihan contributed reporting for this article.

An alternative health advocate who popularized drinking bleach as a COVID-19 cure in South America is under investigation after 2 deaths

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In <keyword id="104154" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bolivia">Bolivia</keyword>, lawmakers are pushing through a bill legalizing a form of toxic bleach, <keyword id="9532982" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="chlorine-dioxide">chlorine dioxide</keyword>, as a <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> treatment despite opposition from the country's health ministry.</li><li>The substance is called <keyword id="9102985" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="miracle-mineral-solution">Miracle Mineral Solution</keyword> by a network of alternative-medicine advocates. Scientists and doctors say it has no medical value and can be deadly.</li><li>Across the country, reports are emerging of injuries and deaths of people consuming MMS under the false belief it cures COVID-19.</li><li>A German "researcher" with no apparent medical credentials, along with a group of renegade medics, helped popularize MMS there, Business Insider has found.</li><li>Analysts say opposition politicians are backing the substance — regardless of the dangers — to exploit growing anger with the embattled government.</li></ul>The endoscope images show serious lesions and swellings in the esophagus, the organ that connects the mouth and the stomach.They come from a patient in the South American nation of Bolivia. The person drank a toxic substance called chlorine dioxide — an industrial bleach — under the false but increasingly common belief that it wards off COVID-19.<div type="image" title="MMS injury, Bolivia" height="1500" width="2000" msid="78165015" hostid="261"></div>The injuries are a stark example of the damage being wrought in Bolivia by a campaign to legitimize chlorine dioxide, known by its advocates as Miracle Mineral Solution.MMS supporters — a loose global network of conspiracy theorists and alternative-health advocates — groundlessly claim the substance can treat virtually any illness.In Bolivia, buckling under a deep political crisis and a severe COVID-19 outbreak, they have achieved their most startling success to date.The clinical images seen by Business Insider were included in an urgent note shared among Bolivian doctors faced with a surge in patients who damaged their bodies by consuming MMS.The doctor who took the images describes its effect as "sudden and explosive." They were shared with Business Insider by another medic in Bolivia, who requested anonymity as they were not authorized to make them public.In Bolivia, it's currently illegal to promote MMS as a medical substance. But the country's healthcare infrastructure is weak, making the country vulnerable to quick-fix promises. Despite warnings, the country's legislature <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivian-lower-house-approves-toxic-bleach-as-covid-19-treatment-2020-8">recently passed a bill that would authorize its use</a>.The legislation is in stalemate after Bolivia's president refused to sign it, and it could end up before the Bolivian Supreme Court.MMS is said <a href="https://www.paginasiete.bo/sociedad/2020/7/16/universidad-de-tarija-produce-seis-litros-por-dia-261514.html">to already be in production at university laboratories</a>, ready to be given to COVID-19 patients. And many people are using it anyway.Across the country, numerous injuries — and one death — have been reported among those who consumed it.In July there were reports of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG13pR-zZFA">three people poisoned by the substance in El Alto</a> and <a href="https://www.paginasiete.bo/sociedad/2020/7/16/reportan-intoxicaciones-por-dioxido-de-cloro-en-ciudades-261515.html">10 in the city of Cochabamba</a>. In the city of Trinidad, doctors believe a woman's death was caused by consuming the bleach.<h2>A movement born on the fringes of the internet</h2>For years, people promoting MMS worked on the fringes of the internet, coming under increasing pressure in Europe and North America from health authorities, law-enforcement agencies, and social-media companies.MMS is not a medical treatment but rather a type of bleach used mostly as a disinfectant or to whiten paper products.Its use on humans was first pushed by the Genesis II church, a Florida-based organization <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-grenon-arrested-colombia-video-mms-2020-8">whose leader, Mark Grenon, was recently arrested in Colombia</a>. He was wanted by investigators in the US who have linked the promotion of MMS to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mms-bleach-killed-7-americans-new-from-colombia-arrest-2020-8">at least seven deaths</a>.<div type="image" title="Bolivia, coronavirus" height="1264" width="1685" msid="78165018" hostid="261"></div>In the US, MMS been the subject of multiple warnings by the Food and Drug Administration, <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-warns-consumers-about-dangerous-and-potentially-life-threatening-side-effects-miracle-mineral">which says it has received reports of</a> "severe vomiting, severe diarrhea, life-threatening low blood pressure caused by dehydration, and acute liver failure after drinking these products."Bolivia's own health ministry has warned against taking the substance. In <a href="https://www.minsalud.gob.bo/4339-agemed-advierte-a-la-poblacion-sobre-los-riesgos-de-usar-el-dioxido-de-cloro-contra-la-covid-19">a July advisory</a> it said MMS "puts the health of the population that consumes it, or intends to do so, at serious risk."Bolivia is one of the Latin American countries hit hardest by the coronavirus, with at least 118,000 cases and 5,200 deaths among its 11 million inhabitants, <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/bolivia">according to data from Johns Hopkins University</a>.The region has been an especial focus for MMS advocates, and Bolivia proved especially fertile ground.Hospitals are buckling under the pressure, and essential equipment such as ventilators are in short supply. Many Bolivians lack medical insurance or, because of political unrest or poor roads, can't access hospitals.Kate Centellas, the Croft associate professor of anthropology and Latin American studies at the University of Mississippi, says the country is in crisis.She told Business Insider that contributing factors included "panic over the high level of COVID-19 cases in Bolivia, which seem to be understated given the death rate, and already poor infrastructure which had been struggling to be improved."Jhanisse Vaca Daza is a human-rights activist whose Standing Rivers charity has organized efforts to distribute essential medical supplies to Bolivians who can't afford or access medical treatment.She, too, said desperation was driving the spread of <keyword id="9745851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="medical-misinformation">medical misinformation</keyword>.<h2>The self-described expert fueling Bolivia's crisis</h2>Into the chaos has stepped <keyword id="9954139" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="andreas-kalcker">Andreas Kalcker</keyword>, a German self-described "researcher" with no apparent medical qualifications.On Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and in national news reports, he and his allies have claimed, without the backing of medical authorities and on the basis of mostly anecdotal evidence, that chlorine dioxide offers a cheap and accessible solution to COVID-19.When challenged, he and his associates have portrayed medical authorities as malign actors involved in an imperialist conspiracy to suppress the cure.Kalcker describes himself on his Instagram profile as "Chief research at Swiss Center for Scientific Research, Innovation and Development."Business Insider found no mention of such an organization in Switzerland's official records. Kalcker is also not registered as a medical professional in the country.Last year his book, "Forbidden Health," was banned by Amazon for promoting MMS as a medicine, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/amazon-removes-books-promoting-dangerous-bleach-cures-autism-other-illnesses-n1010861">after an investigation by NBC News</a>.The Irish broadcaster <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5kxi5Dz_MY&amp;feature=youtu.beu.be">RTÉ reported in 2015 that Kalcker</a> was using a fake certificate bought online to pass himself off as an expert.In recent months, Kalcker has stepped up his efforts to promote the substance in Latin America, and his profile is growing.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/redgigavision/videos/712382769610295"></a><div type="image" title="Andreas Kalcker" height="1209" width="1613" msid="78165019" hostid="261"></div>On June 29 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/redgigavision/videos/712382769610295">he was interviewed on the Bolivian national TV channel RED Gigavision</a> about MMS. Kalcker attacked the Bolivian health ministry for warning against the bleach and claimed it was effective against COVID-19.In the interview, pictured above, his credentials were never questioned, and he was treated as a legitimate scientific expert. He was filmed in what appears to be a laboratory, near scientific equipment."Through not giving the substances, they're responsible for genocide!" he claimed of the Bolivian health ministry.In an emailed statement to Business Insider, Kalcker said: "There are 1,327 scientific papers about Chlorine Dioxide... Have you studied all of them?? It sure took me a very long time to do that myself...:))"He added: "Also bear in mind that further censorship of Chlorine Dioxide use will no doubt lead to many more deaths, and all of this will become Genocide. Genocide is a crime with no statute of limitations and all of those responsible for it will eventually be held fully accountable."With the coronavirus spreading rapidly in Bolivia over the summer, sources have told Business Insider that many ordinary Bolivians were persuaded by groundless claims like Kalcker's.<h2>'There is so much desperation'</h2>Unlike much conventional medicine, MMS is cheap. It soon became readily available through word-of-mouth vendors, sellers on Facebook, and, later, in pharmacies, according to Vaca Daza, the human-rights activist.She said: "There is so much desperation. We see it firsthand because we are often delivering protective equipment and food. We've seen how desperate people are. So having something that it not only cheap but also accessible seems like the perfect thing you would want to find right now."Centellas, from the University of Mississippi, said many Bolivians were unable to access hospitals so sought other treatments.She said: "I think we also have to understand relative risks here. If we're already quite sick and you're unable to get into a hospital, or get a test done, maybe bleach may seem somewhat reasonable — at least you're doing something."Vaca Daza said the result for hospitals was that they were dealing with injuries from MMS on top of an already-unmanageable volume of COVID-19 patients."They are taking it as a preventative measure, are taken to hospital, then get COVID because of the exposure," she said. "It makes things worse, and doctors are already overwhelmed."Kalcker's efforts to promote MMS in Bolivia have been aided by a controversial group of doctors. They are led by the La Paz pediatrician Dr. Patricia Callisperis and call themselves the World Coalition for Health and Life, or Comusav. Their website features several videos by Kalcker.In a statement to Business Insider, Callisperis said she advocated the use of chlorine dioxide to treat COVID-19 because of its "oxygenating action at a mitochondrial level."David Colquhoun, a professor of pharmacology at University College London who debunks pseudo-science, described her claim as "just made-up stuff.""Whatever actions it has at cellular level have nothing to do with whether or not it helps COVID (or autism or whatever the thing is that they're selling it for at the moment). That needs trials in humans," he said.Callisperis said Comusav was "testing everything" because there was "no scientific evidence for any medicine or substance proposed in the world" to treat COVID-19.In a video posted on YouTube in July and forwarded to Business Insider by an activist in the country, Callisperis described MMS as "a natural cure that taps the ancestral roots of Bolivians."<h2>Nationwide lobbying for MMS</h2><a href="https://eju.tv/2020/07/brigadas-medicas-de-oruro-visitaran-las-casas-de-la-urbe-y-distribuiran-dioxido-de-cloro/">According to Bolivian media reports</a>, Comusav has used MMS to treat patients in Oruro, eastern Bolivia, with the backing of local authorities there. It has lobbied Bolivian politicians to legalize the substance.<a href="https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/pais/20200714/dioxido-cloro-gana-terreno-legislativo-aprobaron-senado-asamblea-paz">The Los Tiempos newspaper reported</a> that city lawmakers in La Paz, the nation's capital, cited "expert testimony" from Callisperis and Kalcker as they pushed to legalize the substance.Callisperis confirmed that Bolivian legislators had consulted Comusav about MMS. She said: "They asked us because they aren't seeing their need for answers to this health crisis being met: The public is requesting a response through their legislative representatives."Callisperis went on to dismiss reports of harm caused by the substance. She claimed that media reports cited by Business Insider were insufficiently rigorous and that Comusav would stop promoting MMS if it were shown "conclusive" evidence.In his statement, Kalcker claimed that Comusav's support for chlorine dioxide was compelling evidence in support of its effectiveness."In a best-case scenario I could perhaps fool or deceive a handful of doctors... But fool over 3,000 doctors? That would be a most incredible achievement, wouldn't it be?" he wrote.(It is not clear whether Comusav has that many members.)"Please, do begin to wake up from the 'Matrix' we're in, because there are also many journalists dying as well from this, my friend," he added.It's not just media reports, but an influential medical organization that has warned that the substance can kill.La Organización Médico Colegial, a Spanish medical regulator influential across the Spanish-speaking world, <a href="http://ceutatv.com/art/26349/la-organizacion-medica-colegial-advierte-del-peligro-de-usar-dioxido-de-cloro-mms">has issued a statement rebutting Comusav's</a> claims that MMS can be used to treat COVID-19.<a href="https://www.cgcom.es/sites/default/files/u183/informe_clo2._y_anexos_final.pdf">It warned in the August 25 statement</a> that, in the doses recommended by Comusav and others, it "endangers the health" of patients and produces "adverse effects that can be serious."Nonetheless, Callisperis and other advocates have found an eager audience among many of Bolivia's lawmakers, who critics say are eager to exploit the country's political turmoil.<h2>Fake medicine meets political chaos</h2>When the coronavirus reached Bolivia, it found a nation already in crisis.Last November, the country's socialist president, Evo Morales, stepped down after allegations of electoral fraud, replaced by the caretaker government of the conservative Jeanine Áñez until new elections could be held.Though Morales fell, his Movimiento al Socialismo party retained control of both chambers of the country's legislature, leading to a political deadlock.<div type="image" title="Bolivian president" height="1334" width="1778" msid="78165022" hostid="261"></div>The Áñez administration has struggled to respond to the coronavirus. Her government has been mired in further claims of corruption, specifically over the procurement of hospital ventilators, a scandal <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/bolivia-health-minister-held-ventilator-corruption-200521102229349.html#:~:text=Anez%20is%20facing%20her%20biggest,the%20Inter%2DAmerican%20Development%20Bank.">that resulted in the arrest</a> of the country's health minister.The episode, activists told Business Insider, heightened ordinary Bolivians' existing mistrust for the country's political class.For Centellas, advocating unproven treatments has become a way of signaling disaffection with political and scientific establishments, just as in the US."I think a lot of it now we're seeing with MMS in the US and elsewhere, if you embrace it, it is a way of articulating your rejection of the current political regime and doubt about what they're saying and doubt about what is actually efficacious or not." she said.Elections were due in Bolivia in September, but the Áñez government had delayed them until October 18, citing the coronavirus crisis. Movimiento al Socialismo supporters have taken to the streets in protest, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/959536f7-aee4-4840-b2a6-9b52644577f0">blocking roads and demanding that Áñez step down</a>.As it seeks to place further pressure on the government, the left-wing party has seized on the so-called miracle cure being used across Bolivia, in what critics say is a cynical political gambit.The country's Movimiento al Socialismo-led Senate <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivian-senate-approves-toxic-bleach-as-covid-19-treatment-2020-7">approved chlorine dioxide as a COVID-19 treatment</a> in July, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivian-lower-house-approves-toxic-bleach-as-covid-19-treatment-2020-8">followed by the lower house in August</a>.The next step is for Áñez to either sign the bill into law or veto it. Despite signaling her opposition, so far she has done neither.Now the Senate's leader is threatening to overrule any veto of the bill, potentially escalating the case to the Bolivian Supreme Court.Vaca Daza, the activist, believes MAS has set a trap for Añez: By refusing to approve the bill legalizing chlorine dioxide, she will open herself to claims she is an enemy of the people, denying access to a life-saving drug."My hypothesis is that this would not be happening if it was not months before an election," Vaca Daza said. "I think they've created a perfect storm so the MAS party can rise to power again. The whole narrative that the MAS party holds is that the executive and opposition are a bunch of elite people who hate the poor people and want them gone."She added: "So chlorine dioxide, regardless of whether it is effective or not, is a great thing to fit into that narrative because it's cheap, it makes it look like they're defending the people, and obviously the executive has to block it because it's not healthy."The Senate leader, Monica Eva Copa, an MAS member, did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.But as the election nears, and self-proclaimed health experts and unscrupulous local politicians continue to tout the substance, it is ordinary Bolivians who are paying the price.For Centellas, the damage has already been done."Even if it's officially banned," she said, "I'm not sure that will change much in terms of the people already using it or who are interested in using it versus the people who think it's dangerous."Ruqayyah Moynihan contributed reporting to this article.

How an entire nation embraced toxic bleach as a COVID-19 miracle cure after a tide of misinformation that authorities couldn't counter

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In Facebook groups and <keyword id="11989863" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="telegram" source="Orion">Telegram</keyword> channels, "<keyword id="12615363" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="de-vaccination" source="Orion">de-vaccination</keyword>" misinformation is spreading. </li><li>De-vaccination is medically impossible. But some advocates are encouraging people to try.</li></ul>On social media channels devoted to anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, a new craze is spreading. In a video <a href="https://www.bitchute.com">hosted on Bitchute,</a> a platform known for its extremist content, a man applies electrodes, a strong magnet and "55 percent Montana whiskey" in the hope of removing a COVID-19 vaccine from a US military veteran.In another, a gory variant of the "cupping" technique to draw blood from an injection site, a man makes extra incisions with a razor to extract a significant amount. (Insider is not linking to the footage due to its graphic nature.)Neither method had any hope of working. It is impossible to undo vaccination, a process which <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-do-vaccines-work">works by teaching the body to fight infection itself</a>, and which doesn't rely on substances that can be isolated or removed.But, with millions of people now vaccinated against COVID-19, some anti-vaccination advocates are pivoting to a new narrative aimed at those who took vaccines and regret it.They claim it is indeed possible to "de-vaccinate" people, recommending a host of methods which range from quaint to potentially dangerous.<div type="image" title="Graphene oxide conspiracy theory" height="944" width="1258" msid="87933529" hostid="261"></div>The "de-vaccination" movement is spreading in Telegram groups with thousands of members, as well as other fringe platforms used by extremists, which Insider monitored while researching the trend.Users repost videos, like the ones referred to above, beaming them to large audiences not reflected in view counts on the sites where they are hosted.Advocates have also established a presence on mainstream platforms that purport to restrict such activity, such as Facebook and TikTok, experts told Insider.In response to Insider flagging their presence, Facebook removed a de-vaccination group and several pages from its site for violating its COVID misinformation policies.Joe Ondrak, a disinformation expert and the lead researcher at Logically AI, told Insider that beliefs in "de-vaccination" have roots in older conspiracy theories.Ondrak linked it to claims — also untrue — that vaccines are magnetic. (The theory fueled a subgenre of videos in which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/anti-vaccine-nurse-fails-prove-covid-19-vaccine-made-magnetic-2021-6">people claimed metal objects started sticking to them</a> after they got vaccinated.)"As that claim went viral, people were looking for scientific reasons to back that up. And people sort of started latching on to this idea of graphene oxide as a magnetic material that was in the vaccines," he said. Graphene oxide is a substance used in high-tech manufacturing, with some potential medical applications.Some claim that the substance is being implanted via the vaccines to transform humans into machine-like entities who can be easily controlled.Public health bodies say there is no graphene oxide in any of the COVID-19 vaccines. (Fact-checking site <a href="https://fullfact.org/health/graphene-oxide-vaccines-oct-2021/">Full Fact linked the narrative </a>to a disputed study by a scientist at the University of Almería in Spain. The university has since distanced itself from his work.)Some advocates claim to to be able to purge vaccine-implanted graphene oxide. The benign suggestions to do this include protein supplements and pine-extract capsules, albeit sold at high prices. Others are potentially dangerous.People promoting the toxic bleach chlorine dioxide as a miracle cure have <a href="https://www.insider.com/dangerous-health-myths-we-debunked-this-year-2020-12">reached a vast new audience during the pandemic,</a> claiming it can cure or prevent the disease (it cannot). Some of those people now also advocate it as part of a "de-vaccination" treatment. De-vaccination conspiracy theories have been spreading in the movement for months, Fiona O'Leary, an activist who tracks chlorine dioxide misinformation told Insider. Chlorine dioxide is a kind of bleach used to treat paper products, and can be fatal if consumed in large doses. Its use as a "miracle cure" has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mms-bleach-killed-7-americans-new-from-colombia-arrest-2020-8?r=US&amp;IR=T">been linked to several deaths during the pandemic</a>.Andreas Kalcker is a leading chlorine dioxide advocate, who is under investigation <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/toxic-bleach-miracle-andreas-kalcker-charged-argentina-2021-9?r=US&amp;IR=T">in Argentina after a child died from drinking the bleach to treat a cough.</a>Kalcker in videos on <keyword id="12615364" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bitchute" source="Orion">Bitchute</keyword> pushes graphene oxide conspiracy theories and claims that chlorine dioxide can purge it. His new book further expanded on his groundless belief in the power of the bleach to "de-vaccinate."The book was on sale on Amazon, but was removed after Insider flagged it to the company.In a statement to Insider, he defended his view that COVID vaccines contain graphene oxide, citing the disputed Spanish study. The de-vaccination movement has spread to establish a growing presence on mainstream platforms.<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/covid-vaccine-mandates-push-holdouts-get-shot-detox-rcna4859"></a><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/covid-vaccine-mandates-push-holdouts-get-shot-detox-rcna4859">A recent NBC News investigation</a> found anti-vaccine influencers on TikTok pushing unproven de-vaccination cures.They included taking baths in water infused with the chemical irritant borax, or trying to use a syringe to "un-inject" the vaccine — neither of which have any prospect of undoing the vaccination process.Advocates are also using private and public groups on Facebook to discuss "de-vaccination", said Ondrak. Insider viewed several such large groups during its research, which have tens of thousands of members. Ondrak noted that due to the opacity of Telegram and Facebook's private groups, it is hard to get a true sense of how far misinformation is spreading.Meta, Facebook's parent company, told Insider that its goal was to promote accurate information about COVID and vaccines, and explained why it had removed one de-vaccination group flagged by Insider."We removed this group for violating our policies and will continue to remove any group, page, or post that repeatedly violates those policies," said a Meta spokesman.The de-vaccination movement though is unlikely gain much wider traction, said Ondrak. But the emergence of the movement has a deeper significance, he said.He said it was one of the core narratives now linking disparate groups on the political fringe — such as alternative health advocates and far-right extremists — into a supercharged anti-vaccine movement. "It's here in this idea of being de vaccinated, where they are really overlapping quite tightly," said Ondrak.

Conspiracy theorists are pushing toxic bleach and other harmful treatments they claim can 'de-vaccinate' people

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Dozens of people are being hospitalised in <keyword id="104154" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bolivia">Bolivia</keyword> after taking <keyword id="9102985" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="miracle-mineral-solution">Miracle Mineral Solution</keyword>, a type of bleach, to ward off COVID-19. </li><li>A Business Insider investigation has identified the network of alternative medicine advocates promoting the substance, led by a self-proclaimed expert with no medical qualification.</li><li>Despite an absence of proof, they have persuaded many desperate Bolivians that taking the bleach is effective.</li><li>The country's lawmakers — despite warnings — are in the process of making the substance an official COVID-19 treatment. </li></ul>Dozens of Bolivians are falling ill, and at least one is said to have died, after drinking a toxic bleach endorsed by the country's lawmakers as a COVID-19 treatment, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-bleach-coronavirus-embraced-misinformation-2020-9?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">a Business Insider investigation has found</a>.In August, the Latin American country's lawmakers <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivian-lower-house-approves-toxic-bleach-as-covid-19-treatment-2020-8?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">passed a bill seeking to legalize chlorine dioxide</a>, a toxic substance used as an industrial bleach, as a COVID-19 treatment.Only the country's president is preventing it from being made law.Many advocates also know the substance as Miracle Mineral Solution, or MMS.The development is one of the most startling in the spread of <keyword id="9745851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="medical-misinformation">medical misinformation</keyword> during the coronavirus pandemic.In July there were reports of <a href="https://www.paginasiete.bo/sociedad/2020/7/16/reportan-intoxicaciones-por-dioxido-de-cloro-en-ciudades-261515.html">t</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG13pR-zZFA">hree people poisoned by the substance in El Alto,</a> and <a href="https://www.paginasiete.bo/sociedad/2020/7/16/reportan-intoxicaciones-por-dioxido-de-cloro-en-ciudades-261515.html">10 in the city of Cochabamba.</a> In the city of Trinidad, doctors believe a woman's death was caused by consuming the bleach.There are no official figures for how many people are affected, but activists in the country have told Business Insider it is likely in the thousands.Business Insider has identified the network of alternative medicine advocates responsible for promoting the substance in Bolivia, who Bolivian lawmakers pushing to legalize the substance have consulted as experts.They include Andreas Kalcker, a German man with no medical qualifications who has long promoted <keyword id="9532982" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="chlorine-dioxide">chlorine dioxide</keyword> as a curative substance.He has worked with a group of Latin American doctors called COMUSAV, who have treated people using the toxic bleach in the east of the city, and whose activities have been condemned by an influential Spanish medical regulatory body. Both Kalcker and COMUSAV have claimed that their research proves that the bleach is effective as a COVID-19 treatment in statements. <h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-bleach-coronavirus-embraced-misinformation-2020-9?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">Read the full Business Insider investigation here.</a></h2>

Bolivians are drinking a toxic bleach, wrongly believing it will ward off COVID-19. Many end up in the hospital.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="104154" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bolivia">Bolivia</keyword>'s MAS party surged to victory in last week's presidential election, pledging to rebuild a country devastated by the coronavirus pandemic and political turmoil. </li><li>Their victory is also a triumph for a fringe alternative medicine movement embraced by the MAS that believes that consuming toxic bleach cures <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword>.</li><li>The substance, <keyword id="9532982" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="chlorine-dioxide">chlorine dioxide</keyword>, is also known as "<keyword id="9102985" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="miracle-mineral-solution">Miracle Mineral Solution</keyword>" or MMS. It has no known medical use.</li><li>MAS lawmakers pushed for MMS to be made available in clinics across the country, despite reports of people being killed and seriously injured consuming it. </li><li>The last president, Jeanine Áñez, did not support the initiative. Now she has been swept from power, MAS can move ahead with its plans.</li></ul>When Bolivia's Movimiento al Socialismo party (MAS) swept to victory in last week's delayed presidential election, it was hailed by many as a triumph for ordinary people against a corrupt, right-wing government. But its triumph was also a victory from a fringe medicine movement embraced by the MAS, who baselessly claim that drinking the toxic bleach chlorine dioxide can cure COVID-19.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-bleach-coronavirus-embraced-misinformation-2020-9">In September,</a> Business Insider exposed how members of the movement, who call the bleach "Miracle Mineral Solution" (MMS), had found powerful new converts among senior members of the MAS, including Senate leader Eva Copa. The movement claims, groundlessly, that the substance cures a raft of otherwise incurable illnesses, including COVID-19. It originated in a fake church in Florida, and, boosted by algorithms on social media networks, soon found a global audience. The movement's claims have been rejected by medical authorities globally, including the US Food and Drug Administration, which warned that it can be fatal if consumed in large doses.<div type="image" title="Bolivia chlorine dioxide" height="1389" width="1851" msid="78981605" hostid="261"></div>As the coronavirus began to spread across world, advocates of MMS focused their efforts on promoting the substance in Latin America.They found converts among ordinary Bolivians with no access to medical treatment. Reports quickly began to emerge from Bolivian hospitals of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivian-lower-house-approves-toxic-bleach-as-covid-19-treatment-2020-8">injuries and deaths caused by the substance</a>.MAS lawmakers consulted with a group of renegade medics called COMUSAV, as well as Andreas Kalcker, a prominent advocate of MMS from Germany with no medical qualifications.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivian-senate-approves-toxic-bleach-as-covid-19-treatment-2020-7"></a>Over the summer, they passed legislation in both Bolivia's senate and lower house aiming to legalize the substance for use as a COVID-19 cure.Bolivia's health ministry, though, continued to warn against the use of the substance, and said those selling it were breaking the law. Jeanine Añez, the last president, never ratified the bill. On the eve of the election, Bolivia's MAS-controlled senate reaffirmed its commitment to legalizing chlorine dioxide.Copa, the senate leader, <a href="https://web.senado.gob.bo/prensa/noticias/presidenta-de-la-alp-promulga-ley-del-di%C3%B3xido-de-cloro-y-la-ley-de-permanencia">said in a statement on October 14</a> that she still aims for people to be able "to acquire chlorine dioxide from pharmacies and without the need for a prescription."Activists have told Business insider that the issue did not feature prominently in the election campaign, because coronavirus infection rates had dipped, and attention was consumed by protests by rival political factions ahead of polling day.But with the MAS' Luis Arce now president-elect, and obstacles to the legalization removed, the path is now clear for MAS to make the toxic substance widely available.Kate Centelles, an associate professor specialising in Bolivia at the University of Mississippi, told Business Insider though that it is unclear whether the incoming government will act on Copa's pledge.She said: "The legalization of chlorine dioxide is not a guarantee. I suspect they [the new party leadership] are less likely to approve something just to appease the base as [former president] Evo Morales or even Eva Copa, but might do so if there's some argument made for why practitioners are using it," she wrote in an email. "And now, of course, the symbolism of the approval being an act of political opposition is removed."The decision, said Centellas, would likely hinge on who Arce decides to appoint as health minister. Regardless of the path the MAS chooses, the popularity of chlorine dioxide is unlikely to wane soon in the country, as <a href="https://www.metrolibre.com/nacionales/183948-el-di%C3%B3xido-de-cloro-est%C3%A1-revolucionando-la-medicina.html">Kalcker and COMUSAV continue to champion it</a>.

Bolivia's biggest political party promised to legalize a toxic bleach to treat COVID-19. After winning a landslide victory, there is nothing to stop it

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="104154" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bolivia">Bolivia</keyword>'s new health minister, Edgar Pozo, at a press conference Sunday said consuming toxic bleach <keyword id="9532982" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="chlorine-dioxide">chlorine dioxide</keyword> as a COVID-19 treatment is now permitted.</li><li>It has no medical value and is potentially deadly if consumed, according to medical authorities including the FDA and WHO.</li><li>Despite this, a determined campaign by advocates of the substance, also called Miracle Mineral Solution, persuaded many to take it. </li><li>Business Insider previously reported how lawmakers in Bolivia embraced the substance despite warnings from the nation's own health ministry.</li><li>But last month the old government lost power, allowing the newly-installed Pozo to effectively overturn that advice.</li></ul>Bolivia's new minister of health publicly endorsed consuming a type of toxic bleach to treat COVID-19, despite clear evidence of its dangers. The statement at the weekend by Edgar Pozo was part of a wave of change brought in by Bolivia's new government, which won a recent election after embracing the substance chlorine dioxide as a coronavirus treatment.It was the latest victory in Bolivia for advocates of chlorine dioxide, also known as "Miracle Mineral Solution," who have found success in the South American nation while in other countries advocates have faced prosecution. The toxic substance has been falsely hailed by a sprawling alternative medicine movement as a miracle cure. Medical authorities including the US Food and Drugs Administration have warned that it is potentially lethal if consumed in large doses, and has no medical benefits. At a press conference on Sunday, Pozo described the use of the substance, chlorine dioxide, as "permissible."Here is a video of the event, in Spanish:<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—La Razón Digital (@LaRazon_Bolivia) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1333088888970244096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2020</a></blockquote>Pozo told reporters: "[Chlorine Dioxide] is approved by law, that is to say that access to this alternative medicine is permissible, in a way with which our traditional medical unit is going to begin to produce a broader knowledge about its benefits, about its actions, about the therapeutic approach this substance has.""We are beginning a process, we are beginning to listen to both medicines and it is our obligation to have to take serious steps, calmly, carefully."He announced that the ministry would conduct a study into its use, as part of a review of indigenous treatments of the disease. Although presented in the language of science, Pozo's recommendation cuts across warnings from authorities including the World Health Organization and the US Food and Drug Administration.The comments risk further fueling the popularity of the toxic substance in Bolivia. People there have seized on the bleach in the absence of widely available healthcare, activists have told Business Insider. According to local media reports, people across Bolivia have been hospitalised after taking the chlorine dioxide, which is more commonly used in the production of paper.A front-line medic in September forwarded to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-bleach-coronavirus-embraced-misinformation-2020-9">Business Insider images</a> of the internal injuries the substance caused to a patient who'd been hospitalised after consuming it. The embracing of the substance by a national government marks a new triumph for medical <keyword id="535763" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Misinformation">misinformation</keyword>. Miracle Mineral Solution, or MMS, has long been hailed as cure for a range of illnesses by a global network of conspiracy theorists.Pozo's comments are a dramatic reversal of the ministry's stance under the previous government, when <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivian-lower-house-approves-toxic-bleach-as-covid-19-treatment-2020-8">it warned in June</a> that the substance "puts the health of the population that consumes or intends to do so at serious risk," and said that its popularity was based on rumors and misinformation. Kate Centellas, an associate professor in sociology and anthropology at the University of Mississippi, told Business Insider that the newly-empowered MAS party had pledged support for traditional medicines as part of its election platform.But she said that it was too soon to tell if Pozo was offering his unqualified support for legalizing chlorine dioxide. "Since chlorine dioxide was approved by the MAS senate, I suspect it is difficult to distance himself from it. I do sense some hedging on his part because he's not allowing it to be considered part of traditional medicine but as something distinct," she said of Sunday's press conference. The movement advocating MMS as a panacea for a range of illnesses originates in a fake Florida church, whose leader <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-grenon-arrested-colombia-video-mms-2020-8">was recently arrested in Colombia for selling the substance.</a>The US Food and Drugs Administration, the World Health Organization and Spain's leading medical regulator have all issued urgent warnings against consuming the substance. Last week, the Pan-American Health Organization, in response to its surging popularity in Bolivia, warned in a tweet that the substance "is not a medication." <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—OPS/OMS Bolivia (@OPSOMSBolivia) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1332054770199257089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2020</a></blockquote>Business insider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivia-bleach-coronavirus-embraced-misinformation-2020-9">has chronicled how a group of renegade medics, COMUSAV, and a German alternative medicine advocate, Andreas Kalcker, began to push the substance as a COVID-19 cure in Bolivia over the summer</a>. The popularity of the substance spread as authorities struggled to cope with the pandemic. In what some experts characterised as a ploy to exploit anger at the previous government over its poor response to the pandemic, MAS pushed a bill through the Senate in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bolivian-lower-house-approves-toxic-bleach-as-covid-19-treatment-2020-8">August legalizing the bleach. </a>The party has said it wants the substance to be widely available to COVID-19 patients in pharmacies and health centers. The government of President Jeanine Añez refused to ratify the bill though. With the sweeping triumph of the MAS in November's presidential election, and the appointment of a new health minister, the last obstacle to the legalization of the substance was removed. Yelena Dzahnova and Ruqayyah Moynihan contributed reporting for this article.

You Searched For "andreas kalcker" and got 11 results

A leader of a movement touting toxic bleach as a 'miracle' COVID-19 cure has been charged following a 5-year-old boy's death

Tom Porter

A dangerous movement hyping toxic bleach as a 'miracle cure' is more powerful than ever after exploiting the pandemic in Latin America

Tom Porter

An Australian celebrity lifestyle influencer is hosting some of the world's most notorious conspiracy theorists on his podcast

Tom Porter

Officials in Argentina raided labs producing toxic bleach as a COVID-19 treatment after a misinformation campaign fueled its popularity

Tom Porter,Qayyah Moynihan

South Americans used Facebook groups to share images and stories of using toxic bleach to treat COVID-19 and cancer after misinformation swept the continent

Tom Porter,Qayyah Moynihan

An alternative health advocate who popularized drinking bleach as a COVID-19 cure in South America is under investigation after 2 deaths

Tom Porter

How an entire nation embraced toxic bleach as a COVID-19 miracle cure after a tide of misinformation that authorities couldn't counter

Tom Porter,Ruqayyah Moynihan

Conspiracy theorists are pushing toxic bleach and other harmful treatments they claim can 'de-vaccinate' people

Tom Porter

Bolivians are drinking a toxic bleach, wrongly believing it will ward off COVID-19. Many end up in the hospital.

Tom Porter

Bolivia's biggest political party promised to legalize a toxic bleach to treat COVID-19. After winning a landslide victory, there is nothing to stop it

Tom Porter

Bolivia's new government is encouraging people to take toxic bleach as a cure for COVID-19, a victory for a months-long disinformation campaign

Tom Porter