Celebrity chef Pete Evans has been banned from Instagram for spreading COVID-19 misinformation

Controversial celebrity chef Pete Evans has been booted from Instagram for spreading debunked claims about COVID-19.

Pete Evans has been banned from Instagram. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Celebrity chef Pete Evans has been banned from Instagram and his page deleted, after he spread false information about the coronavirus.

The outspoken anti-vaxxer had his Facebook account shutdown in December by the social media giant, which also owns picture-sharing platform Instagram, for posting debunked COVID-19 health information.

“We removed Pete Evans’ account for repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines,” a Facebook spokesperson said.

“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.”

Last week, Evans announced he was running for the Senate with former One Nation senator Rod Culleton’s The Great Australian Party.

“Pete Evans has maintained his principles and inspired others in the face of uncommon adversity,” a statement from Mr Culleton said.

Reports of his senate run came two months after he was abandoned by a large number of his sponsors including his publisher for posting a neo-Nazi symbol on Instagram.

Evans was dropped by Pan Macmillan, which published 17 of his books, before Channel 10 booted him off I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!

Woolworths, Big W, Dymocks, Coles, Kmart, Target and homeware brands Baccarat and House also distanced themselves from him.

In August, Evans revealed an allegiance to former US President Donald Trump.

Evans donned a red “Make America Great Again” cap synonymous with Trump fans as he declared his support for the hotel billionaire online.

In April, the Therapeutic Goods Administration fined the celebrity chef $25,000 for promoting a “light machine” he claimed could be used to treat COVID-19.

The celebrity chef falsely claimed the BioCharger light “is a pretty amazing tool” that “would take me an hour or two to explain” and which has “a thousand different recipes and a couple on there for Wuhan coronavirus.”

The device — named the BioCharger NG — is being sold through Evans’s website for US$14,990 ($23,617), with a US$500 discount for his followers and billed as a “hybrid subtle energy revitalisation platform” that uses “four transmitted energies” to “stimulate and invigorate the entire body to optimise and improve potential health, wellness, and athletic performance”.

“The TGA received a number of complaints about the promotion of a ‘BioCharger’ device that occurred during a Facebook live stream on 9 April 2020,” the TGA said in a statement.

“Evans allegedly live streamed on his Facebook page, which has more than 1.4 million followers, claims that the device could be used in relation to “Wuhan coronavirus” — a claim which has no apparent foundation, and which the TGA takes extremely seriously.”