Lewis Hamilton has been forced to clarify that he is "not against a vaccine" for Covid-19, after inadvertently sharing an anti-vaxxer post on his Instagram account.
The 35-year-old Formula One star shared a post by internet personality King Bach which suggested Bill Gates was lying when talking about coronavirus vaccine trials.
The video clip, which Hamilton shared with his 18.3 million followers, shows a CBSN interview with Gates where he offers reassurance over potential vaccine side effects and refutes a conspiracy theory that the vaccine will be used to implant microchips in people.
The clip is captioned “I remember when I told my first lie”.
The post attracted criticism online, with one Twitter user saying: “Sir, I applaud your climate and social activism, but please don’t spread dangerous disinformation.”
Hamilton has since deleted the video and published a statement saying he hadn’t seen the comment attached to the clip, but wanted to show there is “uncertainty around side effects” of vaccines.
“I’ve noticed some comments on my earlier post about the coronavirus vaccine, and want to clarify my thoughts on it, as I understand why they might have been misinterpreted,” he said.
“Firstly I hadn’t actually seen the comment attached so that is totally my fault and I have a lot of respect for the charity work Bill Gates does.
“I also want to be clear that I am not against a vaccine and no doubt it will be important in the fight against coronavirus, and I’m hopeful for its development to save lives.
“However after watching the video, I felt it showed that there is still a lot of uncertainty about the side effects most importantly and how it is going to be funded. I may not always get my posting right. I’m only human but I’m learning as we go.” - Guardian
