In the wake of mounting social media reports and speculations indicating that President George M. Weah has tested positive for the deadly Coronavirus, Liberia’s Solicitor General, Cllr. Cyrenius Cephas, says government will seize equipment and revoke licenses of anyone spreading fake news in the country.
Taking an unusually tough stance on Wednesday, April 29, 2020 during a special Ministry of Information press update on the State of Emergency, Cllr. Cephas noted that just as some media institutions and individuals continue to use the mass media to spread fake news, the Government of Liberia will also not tolerate such violations.
Anyone who creates a platform to spread fake news will feel the full weight of the law, Cllr. Cephas said, disclosing further that even social media posters of fake news will be identified and pursued.
“This is a State of emergency. We will use the law to protect the State,” Cllr. Cephas stated, even warning healthcare workers to immediately desist from leaking people test results before such results are officially confirmed.
“It has come to Government attention that when someone goes for testing, before they get their results, the results are already on social media,” the SG disclosed.
During the MICAT press briefing, it was especially noted that effective this Saturday 6:00pm, all issued media passes will be deemed invalid, while new passes are being worked on.
All accredited media Institutions were requested to submit their most relevant staff listing to the Department of Public Affairs, MICAT, as of today, 9:00AM.
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