This week Western Cape resident Stephen Birch appeared in court, after he published a video of himself on social media in which he discouraged people from participating in Covid-19 testing because, he claimed, the swabs used by fieldworkers were contaminated with the virus.
He was charged with being in contravention of Section 11(5)(c) of the Disaster Management Act, which criminalises the distribution of disinformation through any medium on government’s efforts to tackle Covid-19.
The section also expands the sanction to anyone who publishes disinformation on Covid-19 and fake news about the infection status of another person.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Bulelwa Makeke confirmed that since the start of the nationwide lockdown seven people have been arrested for spreading fake news related to Covid-19.
No case has been finalised yet. In six of the cases, two were referred for decision and four were postponed for further investigation, said Makeke. Read More ...
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