Pete Evans: Instagram ban for Australian chef over conspiracy theories

Former celebrity chef Pete Evans had amassed a huge following online

Australian celebrity chef Pete Evans has been banned from Instagram, weeks after his Facebook page was removed for repeatedly sharing misinformation about the coronavirus.

Facebook, which owns Instagram, said: "We don't allow anyone to share misinformation about Covid-19."

Mr Evans' Facebook account was deleted in December but he had continued to post in Instagram.

The chef was a judge for 10 seasons on the Australian show My Kitchen Rules.

But he has attracted controversy in recent years for not only sharing debunked theories about the coronavirus but also promoting pseudo-science about diets and cancer cures.

Last November, he lost several business sponsorships after he shared a meme on social media that featured a neo-Nazi symbol.

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Facebook confirmed on Wednesday that Mr Evans had been removed from its popular picture-sharing platform.

In similar comments made when it banned Mr Evans from Facebook in December, the social media giant said: "We removed Pete Evans's account for repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines.

"We don't allow anyone to share misinformation about Covid-19 that could lead to imminent physical harm or about Covid-19 vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts."

Mr Evans, who had about 1.5 million Facebook followers and some 278,000 Instagram followers, had shared a range of debunked theories about the severity of the virus, mask-wearing and vaccines, as well as incorrect claims about 5G telecom networks.

There was no comment from him on Wednesday, but he had said after the Facebook ban that he was "very glad to be one of the catalysts for a conversation about such an important topic... freedom of speech".

Mr Evans last week announced he planned to run for federal parliament as a candidate for the Great Australia Party, a new party set up by former One Nation senator Rod Culleton.