FDA Has a Coronavirus Warning for Alex Jones

Count Alex Jones among the people hawking fake coronavirus treatments. The FDA and the FTC warned the right-wing conspiracy theorist in a letter to stop promoting and selling silver-infused products including toothpaste and mouthwash that "are intended to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19." Those products are actually "unapproved," "unauthorized," "misbranded," and being "misleadingly represent[ed] ... as safe and effective," says the letter. Televangelist Jim Bakker got a similar letter for his own silver products.

Should Jones fail to comply, he could face legal action, have his products seized, and might be ordered to reimburse anyone who purchased them. There are currently no products proven to prevent or treat the virus. As Politico reports, the Android app for Jones' show, Infowars, was recently banned by Google for spreading coronavirus misinformation. Apple had already banned the app back in 2018, Wired reports. (Jones has also been pushing a conspiracy theory about the virus.)