Buju Banton’s Instagram account has been flagged by the platform for spreading false information about the coronavirus pandemic.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the veteran reggae artiste has used the platform to propagate conspiracy theories surrounding it. Declaring at one point that he would not wear a face mask, and has labeled the Jamaican government as ‘tyrannical” for imposing restrictive measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

In his latest post, Banton alleged that there was a plan to release various variants of the Covid-19 virus over the next few years. A fake graphic posted by the artiste alleged that a popular university was part of the plot.

But Instagram has since flagged the post, alerting users of the platform that fact-checkers have done their due diligence and found Banton’s claim to be false.

Banton has also fuelled skepticism about the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine. He has 1.3 million followers on the platform.

“Oonu a tell we bout shot and none a oonu na tek no shot, a who oonu a try fool round ya. Here what gwaan we want see oonu a tek what oonu want the people to get,” following on the current wave of scepticism as it relates to the vaccine to deal with the virus,” he said in an earlier post.

The COVID-19 virus has infected 55,456 Jamaicans and killed 1,241. Over 203 million people have been infected with the virus globally, and over four million people have died from it.