There was a disinformation campaign against Hydroxychloroquine. In the failed JAMA study, they administered a nearly toxic dose at late stage patients (when there's no viral replication). This is now being investigated.

https://www.moneytimes.com.br/heinze-pede-a-pf-que-investigu... (in Portuguese)

See for example this peer-reviewed study of 29K patients, showing 73% reduction in death.

https://c19hcq.com/mokhtari.html

That said, Ivermectin is superior in almost every way, so you won't find too many people advocating for HCQ now.