After Posting Insane Satanist-HIV-Banana Story, Maltese Nationalist MP Apologizes
The Nationalist MP who shared a fake news post warning that discoloured bananas are actually infected with blood that has been injected with HIV has apologised for his mistake.
Following some harsh backlash on Facebook from the public, especially the LGBT+ community, Vassallo said that he takes back what he posted on his personal profile.
“When I shared it I didn’t think of anything else other than to pass around this ‘information’ so that no harm comes to anyone,” Vassallo wrote. He also lamented on how he has learnt a good lesson on the perils of fake news and how we have to be careful about what we share with other people.
He also wrote that “at the same time, for all those who are ridiculing me in the papers and on social media, I would rather end up in a report about an oversight like this one, for which I apologise, rather than be implicated in a scandal about corruption.”
In the post, he wondered whether he received such a strong backlash because of his conservative politics. He emphasised that “I will continue to respect those who don’t agree with me.”
It’s fair to say that his apology was expected by most. Because following yesterday’s harsh backlash, he surely immediately realised the very big mistake he had just made.
The HIV-Banana post has since been removed from his personal profile.