Gov't ready to 'go after' people who spread 'blatant lies' online

Information Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon has indicated the Government's readiness to “go after” people who spread “blatant lies” online. 

Dixon also sought to assure Jamaicans that the Government is not engaged in any tracking or curtailing of citizens who speak negatively of the administration. 

Speaking at this morning's post-Cabinet press briefing, Dixon, in highlighting the Government's concern about the spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media, asserted that the administration is committed to protecting the country's democracy from these threats. 

“What the government is saying is that what is posted on social media needs to be based in truth. And in that vein, what we have said is that where there are issues or instances where we know individuals have posted things that are not true that we will have to go after those individuals in terms of prosecuting them,” she said. 

Adding that similar action has been taken in different countries dealing with the issue of "fake news". 

Stating that the Government does not oppose dissent as it is key to any democratic society, Dixon however stressed the importance in finding the balance between freedom of expression and honest discourse. 

“We've seen it, we know what happens. Anyone can say anything and it is amplified around the country and around the world and it is important that as we protect the rights of our people and protect the right to freedom of expression and speech that at the same time it is grounded in truth,” she said. 

She noted that there are no new laws at this time to address this issue, but “there are already laws that exist that can be used in terms of prosecuting individuals who do not speak truth online”.

The information minister pointed to the Cybercrimes Act and defamation law. 

Speaking at a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) youth conference on Saturday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness warned of future prosecutions for people who spread misinformation online, cautioning that; “We have been tracking, and you're going to see some actions very shortly for those persons. Much of what is being done is in fact against the law.”

Dixon said that a public education campaign, focusing on social media literacy will be expanded with the aid of the Broadcasting Commission to help citizens discern truthful information online. 

“With AI (Artificial Intelligence), fake news, misinformation can be even more potent and so it is very important that we teach Jamaicans how to understand what's real, what's a real video, what's not a real video so that we can have conversations that are based in truth and not based in untruths.” she said.

- Sashana Small

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