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Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has urged senior government figures to publicly call out Liberal MP Craig Kelly for sharing misleading information about COVID-19, as the controversial backbencher denied spreading misinformation.
Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Health Minister Greg Hunt on Tuesday refused to criticise Mr Kelly after he posted the results of a study that said forcing children to wear face masks was akin to child abuse on Facebook, with Mr McCormack stating: facts are sometimes contentious .
The German study, which has not been peer-reviewed, examined the impact of mask-wearing for children and allegedly found many suffered headaches and impaired learning.
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The spreading of coronavirus misinformation by government MPs is a threat to public health and should be called out by senior officials, health experts say.
Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Health Minister Greg Hunt on Tuesday refused to criticise Liberal MP Craig Kelly after he posted the results of a study that said forcing children to wear face masks was akin to child abuse on Facebook.
The German study, which has not been peer-reviewed, examined the impact of mask-wearing for children and allegedly found many suffered headaches and impaired learning.
Health experts have said that, if the spread of misinformation was left unchecked, it would undermine crucial trust in Australian public health officials and could hamper efforts to smother the virus.