Most fake news laws do not provide a very clear definition of what will be prosecuted, allowing for mere opinions to be punished. -- 123rf.com
ON Sept 30, in Cambodia, journalist Youn Chhiv was sentenced to one year in prison and fined two million riel (RM2,000) over charges of incitement after he reported on the eviction of villagers and destruction of their property over state land claims. No judicial investigation was done before the trial as authorities assumed it was a case of flagrante delicto.
Fake news laws have been rolled out in East and South-East Asian countries to deal with the digital age’s out-of-control spread of disinformation. While these laws are genuinely intended to tackle the threat of fake news, they have been politicised and used against government critics and dissenting voices in many countries.
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