Vietnam to fine, arrest people if caught spreading fake coronavirus news

Any individual that spreads false news about the coronavirus outbreak in Vietnam can be fined up to 30 million VND and even serve prison time in some cases, according to Intellasia News.

The Vietnamese government will punish any person they find who purposely spreads fake news about the epidemic.

The Ministry of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung signed a directive that will increase cyber security, supervision and punish those that release false information. Its says its aim is to prevent public confusion.

In Bac Ninh, six Facebook users were fined 12.5 million each for posting fake news about the coronavirus.

Minster Nguyen Manh Hung told telecoms companies to launch hashtag #OCT_anti_nCoV in an effort to help control the epidemic.