Coronavirus: Prosecutor’s Office tightens measures against fake news spreaders

Morocco’s Public Prosecution Office has called for tightening punitive measures against people spreading fake news on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

 

The prosecutor’s office said in a press release this Tuesday, March 17, that it gave firm instructions to courts across the country to take legal action against anyone who spreads fake news about the coronavirus, warning that spreading fake news creates panic among citizens and undermines public order.

 

The press release added that it filed public complaints against several individuals allegedly responsible for spreading false information about COVID-19.

 

The Public Prosecutor’s move comes as several fake news have gone viral on social media at a time the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) and the Moroccan government have been warning people against fake news and rumors.

 

Several people have already been arrested for spreading rumors about the virus, reports news outlet Morocco World News.

 

The latest to be arrested was a peddler in the town of Souk El Arbaa, 130 kilometers north of Rabat, who had used a loudspeaker to create panic, claiming there are cases of the virus in the town and urging parents to stop sending their children to school. He was arrested on March 12, the outlet said.

 

Earlier this month, a Moroccan court sentenced a man to two months in prison and a $207 fine (2,000 DJ) for claiming that two people died of the virus in the Northern city of Tetouan.

 

In a related development, the Ministry of the Interior has flatly denied Tuesday the rumors that Morocco is about to declare a state of emergency.

All proactive and preventive measures and procedures taken to stem the spread of the new Covid-19 are announced through official channels, said the Interior Ministry in a statement.

 

The ministry denied, as allegations and lies, the contents of a document relayed on social networks and instant messaging applications. The document claimed that entry and exit points of some cities will be closed, that activities of national security and civil protection will be frozen and that an urgent meeting was being at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior to declare a state of emergency in the kingdom.

 

The Ministry insists that the information contained in this document is unfounded and untrue and that the authors of fake news are liable to penalties provided for by law.