KATHMANDU: American singer Madonna's post has been blocked by Instagram for making false claims about cures and prevention methods for COVID-19.

According to AFP, in her post to 15.4 million followers, she claimed that a proven vaccine had been available for months but it was being kept secret "to let the rich get richer and the poor and sick get sicker". Madonna also attached a video of US physician Stella Immanuel who praised hydroxychloroquine as a miracle coronavirus cure.

"We've removed this video for making false claims about cures and prevention methods for COVID-19. People who reacted to, commented on, or shared this video, will see messages directing them to authoritative information about the virus," AFP quoted a company spokeswoman for Facebook, which owns Instagram, as saying on July 29.

Madonna in May revealed that she had recovered from the coronavirus which forced her to pull out of concerts in Paris earlier in the year.