Written by CNN Staff
Brazil’s President-elect Jair Bolsonaro is under investigation for questions surrounding whether he knowingly spread misinformation related to HIV and AIDS.
According to several media reports, Bolsonaro had shared a video on social media in which he referred to a method of treatment called “debiotomy” that destroys the external genitalia.
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However, the method Bolsonaro was referring to is not known to be medically valid, the report says.
The Brazilian Constitution states that the right to privacy includes the right to know medical information, so the investigators opened a criminal investigation into whether Bolsonaro had violated that right, O Globo reported.
National Congress chair, Congressman Rogerio Cunha said, “The anti-vaxxers on Facebook, the ones who give out this information — this is harmful to children, harmful to the whole country.”
The UN’s AIDS program criticized “this type of rhetoric which leads to stigmatization and fear of persons living with HIV/AIDS,” O Globo reported.
According to its website, the UN AIDS Program (UNAIDS) calls medical treatment that destroys the external genitalia “debiotomy” but says it is neither used, nor has been proven to be effective at curing HIV.