9 arrested for sharing “fake news” about Covid-19, government handouts

9 People have been arrested for sharing “fake news” on social media, from May 25 to yesterday, according to Thailand’s Anti-Fake News Centre. 3 were connected to false stories about Covid-19 and a further 6 made bogus claims about the government’s cash handouts to the needy.

The AFNC, together with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, said yesterday that fake news has been on the wane since January. But they stressed that people can be jailed for up to 5 years for spreading fake news and/or fined 100,000 baht. Fines and jail time are also in place for spreading rumours about or breaking the Emergency Decree.

The details of the 9 cases (names withheld) are:

• A woman claimed that another woman fell down from Covid-19 at a shopping centre in Rayong
• A man in Suphanburi claimed that garlic could cure the virus
• A woman in Chon Buri shared a story about ginger, honey and other extracts curing Covid-19
• Cases 4-9 all related to stories across 6 provinces in which people claimed that information submitted to receive the 5,000 baht government handouts was being used by the state to extract tax payments

SOURCES: thaivisa | Daily News