South African Govt gets tough on COVID/5G ‘fake’ news
The South African government has brought in legislation to stop the spread of fake news about Coronavirus and 5G.
Under Section 11 of the Emergency Regulations published in the Government Gazette, any person who publishes any statement through any medium, including Social Media, with the intention to deceive any other person about COVID-19 commits an offence and is liable for on conviction to a fine and/or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months.
The order was welcomed by Vodacom which stated: “There is no credible scientific evidence linking 5G or mobile technologies to the spread of Coronavirus. The international standards body ICNIRP considers all potential impacts on human health relating to mobile phone frequencies including 5G. Following an extensive review of the best science currently available, in March 2020 ICNIRP confirmed that there are no adverse effects on human health from 5G frequencies if exposure is within their guidelines.”