Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash

A YouTuber with over 150,000 subscribers has been arrested on suspicion of spreading fake news after allegedly posting homemade remedies for curing coronavirus.

Civil Police raided the house of the YouTuber, who has not been named in reports, in the city of Curitiba in the southern Brazilian state of Parana after he reportedly posted videos claiming that homemade remedies using quicklime which can be used to cure or prevent COVID-19 infection.

Police sources said the case had been reported by the Regional Medical Council in the state of Rio Grande do Sol who said that the videos could cause health risks to those who try the homemade remedies for themselves.

Brazil’s Ministry of Health characterised the videos as a way of spreading fake news about the COVID-19 pandemic, according to reports. The videos were reportedly shared on WhatsApp as well as being placed on YouTube.

Cops seized a laptop, several airsoft weapons and a falsified healthcare card during the raid, as can be seen in the photos.

The YouTuber was indicted for ‘quackery, falsifying documents, use of a fake identity, and creating false alarm’ but will not be placed in detention as the case continues.

A judge has ruled that the man’s YouTube channel be taken offline and the investigation is ongoing.

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