HONG KONG: Hundreds of people have been arrested across Asia for posting purported false coronavirus information, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) investigation, deepening concerns that growing government efforts to combat “fake news” will target the wrong people and silence dissent. From teenagers to a TV star, people have been wrongly detained under vaguely worded cybercrime laws or broad state-of-emergency powers ushered in since the outbreak began, rights groups say. “Governments are using the ‘fake news’ label to dress up their rights-abusing efforts to censor views and statements that are at odds with whatever strategy they have taken to deal with the Covid-19 crisis,” said Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director for Human Rights Watch (HRW). “It’s insane frankly. Authorities say criminalization is needed to curb the online flood of dangerous fake cures and conspiracy theories that the World Health Organization has called an “infodemic.”

Source: Manila Times April 11, 2020 16:22 UTC