Anti-Fake News Centre has taken legal action against 61 offenders in past year
The Digital Economy and Society Ministry’s Anti-Fake News Centre, which was established on November 1, 2019, has so far investigated 660 cases of fake news and pursued legal action against 61 offenders in 26 cases, deputy permanent-secretary Putchapong Nodthaisong said.
“Twenty-one offenders in 14 cases involve the violation of the computer-related Crime Act, while 40 offenders in 12 cases are to do with violation of the State of Emergency,” he said.
“We have also publicised 96 cases to educate the public and warn them not to believe fake news,” Putchapong said.
“In the past 11 months, the centre has made 20 arrests among 104 posters of fake news online. The trend shows that the number of fake news posters has gradually declined, thanks to strict law enforcement.”
Since its establishment, the centre has also organised three seminars to increase public awareness on how to deal with fake news.
“The seminars have involved the public and related agencies, and are especially helpful to parents who need to screen unsuitable content that their children may gain access to via online channels,” Putchapong said.
“The Centre has suggested various steps to screen fake news, which include reading the whole article and not just the headline, checking the credibility of the URL, checking sources and reference data used by the author, and cross-checking with other news outlets,” he added.