An MP who posted a photo of bananas injected with ‘blood containing HIV and AIDS’ was slammed by Facebook users.
Edin Vassallo, a former junior minister, shared a post on Facebook earlier this week (12 February).
In the since deleted post it said: ‘Warning. If you see that your fruit contains a red weird colour in it, don’t eat it.
‘Groups of people are injecting fruits with blood containing HIV and AIDS.
‘With the aim of killing millions of people around the world. This is Satanism.
‘PLEASE SHARE this post and save others.’
‘Check your sources’
But people on Facebook were not convinced, as Malta Today reported.
One said: ‘As an elected MP you should be evaluating such posts before scaring people.
‘If you cannot decipher a lie on Facebook, how can people trust you?’
Another said: ‘Check your sources before sharing fake news.’
Finally, one user said: ‘Adding to the stigma which is already present around HIV is not helping anyone and if anything is causing more problems.
‘Malta has a rising number of people with HIV.
‘I would expect that you would want to educate and provide beneficial information to society as opposed to spreading false information and fake news.’
Europe’s most LGBTI-friendly country
But Malta is Europe’s most LGBTI-friendly country.
In fact, it topped last year’s ILGA-Europe ‘Rainbow Index’ which ranks countries by how their policies promote sexual and gender equality.
Their annual pride takes place in Malta’s historic capital Valletta.