Coronavirus, which has killed at least 17 people and landed in the United States this week, is the newest source of misinformation sparking health fears worldwide. The most surprising aspect? In China, it can also get people arrested.
On Jan. 3, Agence France Press reported that police forces from Wuhan, the capital of the Chinese province of Hubei, “had punished eight people for ‘publishing or forwarding false information on the internet without verification.’” By that time, police forces had posted a note on their social media channels, informing people about the detention and requesting citizens in Wuhan to obey the law and refrain from spreading misinformation.
The people who were allegedly arrested had posted on Weibo (a Facebook-like social media platform) and/or in other messaging apps that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, was back.
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