“Anyone who spreads false news about coronavirus will be legally sanctioned.” This is said in a statement of the Ministry of the Interior Affairs, warning fake news reporters that they will not be tolerated, especially now at a time when any news can cause panic and anxiety among citizens. It is known that for fake news reporters, such emergencies, as is the current one due to the coronavirus, are ideal for spreading false information that would undermine citizens’ trust in the institutions of the system.
“There will be no compromise in sanctioning those who consciously spread false news. We appeal to the media and social network users to refer only to the officially released data from the relevant institutions,” the MIA said in a statement.
Apart from the Ministry of Interior Affairs, the highest state institutions, such as the President of the Country and the Technical Prime Minister, joined the appeal not to spread the fake news. President Stevo Pendarovski said there were attempts at spreading fake news aiming at causing panic.
“There have been several attempts at organized and planned dissemination of fake news in order to cause panic among the population. Not because of ignorance or unprofessionalism, but to further aggravate the situation in the country and to lose the citizens’ trust in the institutions,” said President Stevo Pendarovski.
“We have encouraged the Ministry of Interior Affairs’ appeal to the citizens – users of social networks not to share and disseminate unverified or ‘fake’ news about the Covid-19 virus,” Minister Spasovski said.
What is the situation in the region regarding fake news?
This moment is used to cause fear and panic among the population by spreading fake news not only in our country. The countries in the region also face the same challenges. In Montenegro, one man was arrested for spreading fake news on social media. He posted that he had information that 13 people were allegedly infected with coronavirus in Montenegro. After the announcement the person was arrested and was given 30 days detention.
In Albania, the Socialist Party caucus announced a lawsuit against former Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha. The reason for this is his alleged spreading of false news about the coronavirus in order to cause panic.
“We will file a lawsuit against former deputy Sali Berisha for spreading false information and news, with edited pictures and comments posted on his Facebook page, with the clear intention of causing panic among the population at this precarious time,” is said in the statement of the Socialist Party’s caucus.
Also in Serbia, the fake news about the coronavirus is not calming down. One was the news was that thousands of people were waiting in front of the Belgrade Military Medical Academy (WMA) to check if they are infected with the coronavirus.
The news was denied by the Academy that the queue for testing was for the coronavirus.
“At the entrance of the building, everyone’s temperature is measured, which is slowing the process of entering. Temperature measurement is one of the measures being implemented in the fight against the new coronavirus,” the Academy said.
In Kosovo, too, before the first cases of coronavirus infected people were registered, there was some fake news about cases related to it. Several media outlets have reported that the first case of an infected person with coronavirus was registered in Gnjilane/Gjilan.
That news was also denied by the mayor of Gnjilane/Gjilan himself, Lutfi Aziri, who declared that it was fake news. He urged state authorities to investigate the case and to see who deliberately spread panic among the population.
Also, the Minister of Interior Affairs Agim Veliu warned that there will be punishment for anyone who will spread misinformation and cause panic among the population during the crisis.
“I urge the citizens of Kosovo to check all the news they read and not to give in to fake news and propaganda. While for the misinformers and propagandists, I warn them that security institutions are monitoring the situation and that everyone will be held accountable for their actions,” said the Minister of Interior Affairs, Agim Veliu.
