Roberta found the promise of a cure for her 5-year-old son, diagnosed with autism, in an online community. Following instructions, he gave the boy some doses of chlorine dioxide and also ingested the same liquid to treat other health problems. What they both took as an alternative medication is, in reality, a toxic and corrosive substance, used in the manufacture of cleaning products.
After a few days, the effect was devastating. “I thought we were going to die,” the mother said in the message group that advised her. But she did not complain or admit to having been deceived; I wanted to know what I had done wrong. Other users and administrators of the group, who profit from the sale of the fake medicine, encouraged her to poison the child again, with the false claim that this would cure him. The “treatment” lasted 3 months.
Roberta’s name is fictitious to protect her identity, but everything else is true. The message exchange occurred on the Telegram app and is far from an isolated case. The sale of “disinfectant kits” for the treatment or even cure of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) also occurs on WhatsApp and social networks.
The monetization of misinformation is not limited to fake medications, sold for up to 700 reais (about US$120). Influencers autism market books, courses and individual consultancies. A lucrative business that proliferates thanks to the permissiveness of online platforms and the low oversight capacity of public power. And crosses bordersas revealed by a joint journalistic investigation by Brazilian media (Verify Status), Colombia (Colombiacheck), Chili (Bad Thorn) and Mexico (Verified), all members of LatamChequeathe network of fact-checkers in Latin America.
Chlorine dioxide: who sells this illegal and toxic substance in Argentina and other countries in the region
The joint investigation of the verifiers was carried out between July and November based on messages collected on Telegram in the last 10 years by researchers from the Laboratory of Studies on Information Disorder and Public Policies of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) and the National Association for the Inclusion of Autistic People (Autistas Brasil).
The report had an impact even before its publication. After Verify Status questioned the Brazilian government about the spread of health misinformation on Telegram, the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) presented a formal request to the company to eliminate groups and channels that illegally sold chlorine dioxide as a supposed cure for diseases from cancer to autism. According to the government, 30 communities were eliminated on September 19. However, the groups monitored by Check they remain active.
In the FGV database there are nearly 60 million publications carried out in Telegram groups considered conspiratorial throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Nearly 47,000 posts were identified that spread incorrect or misleading information about autism in approximately 1,600 groups and channels open to the public.
In these communities there are 4 million users. The researchers mapped mentions of more than a hundred different substances or procedures to treat autism in Telegram groups, with chlorine dioxide by far the most cited indication. Data shows that the number of misleading messages about the disorder increased more than 150 times in 5 years.
The sample analyzed reveals that the communities are mostly organized by country, but there is also evidence of international articulation.
How disinformers act
“Good morning everyone. Yesterday I took three activated drops of MMS and today I had diarrhea and vomiting. Is this normal? Has anyone else had this reaction?” The message refers to the English acronym for Miracle Mineral Solution (Miracle Mineral Solution), a kind of fantasy name for chlorine dioxide, and was sent by one of the approximately 15 thousand members of the group Brazil Brazilian on Telegram.
The community presents itself as a space to debate an “activated water purifier,” but it functions as a showcase for false remedies based on disinfectant. Despite having received notification from the Brazilian government to interrupt the irregular sale of the substance, the network remains active, adding channels on Telegram, sales sites and alternative pages.
Another group analyzed by verifiers in Brazil is associated with the site Purify Brazilin which kits containing chlorine dioxide are sold for the equivalent of US$130. The site, which was notified by the Ministry of Justice in 2024 about the irregular sale of the product as a medicine, still promotes its use as “ideal for intensive protocols and longer treatments.”
Only after the verifiers consulted the government about this case did the channel Purify Brazil was removed from Telegram for violating Brazilian laws. The company only acted after receiving the notification sent by the AGU. The website with the same name, however, remains active. Until being taken down by Telegram, the group spread videos such as one that taught how to apply chlorine dioxide to a child’s nose and distributed a kind of step-by-step manual on how to do an enema (injection of “detoxifying” liquid through the rectum).
In Free marketone of the largest e-commerce platforms in Brazil, offers were found for kits with chlorine dioxide for “water treatment,” despite the fact that the sale of the substance in the country is authorized only as a disinfectant in cleaning products. The ad was international, with free shipping to Brazil. When consulted, the company reported that chlorine dioxide-based products are prohibited on the site and that it immediately removed the advertisement upon becoming aware of the content, in addition to notifying the seller, who is subject to a definitive ban.
In ColombiaTelegram hosts the collective Citizen Oversight for the Truthfocused on sharing anti-vaccine content and that relates immunizers as the main cause of autism. There is also strong promotion of chlorine dioxide as a treatment.
Community users share videos with testimonies saying that children were healed. There is a large volume of mentions of other figures known worldwide for misinformation about vaccines and autism: Andreas Kalcker, Kerri Rivera and the Secretary of Health of the Trump administration, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Both the group and its main spokesperson, Cisalia Camacho, were verified several times by Colombiacheck (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) for spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories on different topics.
In groups chileans that promote the treatment of autism there are also indications for purchasing chlorine dioxide in sites that, apparently, market the product for water purification. Consumption as a medicine is suggested indirectly, in testimonials from clients who claim to have “more energy” or report using the substance to eliminate viruses or toxins. Prices for the containers vary from US$13 to US$340. Kits for making chlorine dioxide at home are also sold.
In Mexicoit is common for misinformation to come not only from ordinary people, as in other countries, or from world-known “gurus” like Kerri and Kalcker, but also from celebrities in the world of entertainment.
One of them is the presenter Verónica del Castillo, sister of Kate del Castillo, a well-known Mexican actress. Verónica calls herself a link between doctors willing to offer “oxidative therapy” and society. Another example is Tanya Carmona, a Mexican-American actress who claims that her son with autism was cured with integrative therapies.
Health risks
Neuroscientist Victorio Bambini Junior, senior professor at Lancaster University in England, explains that Chlorine dioxide is a highly toxic oxidizing agent. “There is no safe scenario for its therapeutic use,” he said. Ingestion can cause severe lesions in the gastrointestinal tract, vomiting, intense diarrhea, mucosal burns and dehydration, with an even greater impact on children.
The scientist highlights that the risks go beyond the digestive system. Chlorine dioxide compromises the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. At higher levels, it can lead to loss of consciousness and even death. Health authorities also warn that the liquid can negatively affect the kidneys and liver. For this reason, institutions such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the WHO, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the National Health Surveillance Agency of Brazil (Anvisa) prohibit the therapeutic use of the compound.
Pseudoscientists
In general, figures presented as “specialists” in online communities do not have medical training. In Colombia, Colombiacheck interviewed one of the most cited names in those communities, Beyman Yepes Murillo, also known as ‘Dr. Foreman Yepes’. He admitted not being a doctor and claimed to use the title “doctor” because “people call you that because it healed you.” He also said he acted almost two decades ago by offering virtual consultations based on the protocols of Andreas Kalcker and Jim Humble, creators of MMS. The false health professional reported prescribing restrictive diets, deworming, enemas and continuous use of chlorine dioxide, which he described as “harmless.”
Kerri Rivera, an American who today lives in Mexico, is a cult figure in groups that misinform about autism. In 2013, he wrote a book promoting the supposed cure of the disorder with MMS and which was removed from sales platforms for its misleading content. Rivera is not a doctor nor does she have scientific training. Before monetizing the fake cure with book sales, speaking engagements, and consultations, I was a real estate agent.
Andreas Kalcker is also frequently cited in those communities as a source to support the allegations. He was mentioned as one of the largest promoters of chlorine dioxide in Latin America in the investigation The Science Chlorine Dioxide Promoters Actually Masterpublished by a media alliance, including Colombiacheck, in 2022.
consulted by Verify StatusKalcker claimed not to claim that there is a cure for autism in the traditional sense, but rather that “there are biophysical approaches that can significantly improve the quality of life of many people.”
This is a summarized version of the research. The full version can be read in this link.
*This research is part of “The Misinformants”, a series of investigations on different actors who spread misinformation in the region carried out LatamChequeathe network of Latin American checkers. This note was made within the framework of the project “Promote reliable information and fight disinformation in Latin America” coordinated by Chequeado and financed by the European Union, its content is the exclusive responsibility of Estadão Verifica and does not necessarily reflect the points of view of the European Union.
