The Ministry of Information claimed to have identified more than 6,000 cases of false or misleading information from media sources in the past three years. The figure – which includes ‘fake news’, stories designed to incite social unrest, and those which insult the leadership – was released as part of a report detailing the ministry’s achievements of the past few years.
Last year, the ministry cited 2,870 such incidents. 1,966 cases criticised the government, and 904 insulted the king or other members of the leadership.
In 2021, there were fewer than 2,000 cases.
According to the report, the Anti-Fake News Commission has sent 208 cases to an inter-ministerial working group for further investigation since 2020.
The report explained that while the growth of digital technology has created many opportunities and had an overall positive effect on society, it was not without its challenges.
These challengers include the dissemination of fake news, false information, incitement to violence, racial discrimination, and international conflict. This has the potential to affect national unity, and must be resisted.
“The ministry cooperates with all relevant government institutions to prevent the spread of misinformation, in all forms. This applies especially to opportunists who are attempting to cause political instability in order to overthrow the government,” said the report.
The report added that the ministry would continue to work closely with international institutions such as Facebook, and Tik Tok to reduce the dissemination of fake news or false information.
