Coronavirus sends Asia's social media censors into overdrive
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Reuters
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Summary
6 Min ReadBANGKOK/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Deluged by misinformation about the new coronavirus on social media, some Asian governments are fighting back with arrests, fines and fake news laws - something free speech advocates fear will entrench measures that can also silence dissent. At least 16 people have been arrested over coronavirus posts in Malaysia, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong, while Singapore has used its controversial new “fake news” law, POFMA, to force media outlets and social media users to carry government warnings on their posts and articles saying they contain falsehoods. “Fortunately, we now have POFMA to deal with these fake news,” said Lawrence Wong, one of the ministers heading a Singapore government task force to halt the spread of the virus.
As said here by Matthew Tostevin