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An Idaho chiropractor who previously posted videos advocating against vaccinations has been running Facebook ads falsely claiming his products can prevent infection from COVID-19, the deadly disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Steven Baker said on his Facebook page that he was “uncovering controversial content, educating the masses,” but the videos he has posted go against the scientific consensus on how to behave during the pandemic.

In one promoted video, titled “How to PREVENT COVID-19 Virus from infecting you…” he wears a white baseball cap backward and advises people to use a “silver spray” instead of hand sanitizer. The spray does not contain alcohol and is ineffective protection against the virus — but he does sell it. The ad included links to his website. Or at least he did until recently. His homepage claimed that the website managing company Shopify removed one of his products. The shop was removed entirely after an inquiry from BuzzFeed News.

“Shops listing medical products or making medical claims must be substantiated by our merchants, and failure to do so results in account suspension or termination," a spokesperson for Shopify told BuzzFeed News. "False or deceptive promotion of listed products is a violation of Shopify’s Acceptable Use Policy and not aligned with our mission to make commerce better for everyone."



The Shopify spokesperson also said the company has removed over 5,000 stores related to COVID-19 from its platform for violating policies.

Baker did not return requests for comment.

“These videos violate our policies,” a Facebook spokesperson told BuzzFeed News. “We’ve disabled this ad account and removed this page. We remove misinformation about COVID-19 that makes false claims about cures, treatments, the availability of essential services or the location and severity of the outbreak — this includes ads.”