Pandemic made it worse...



In the early days of the pandemic, back in December 2019, medical professionals, professionals, and citizen journalists tried to raise the alarm in China. However, they were harassed by the government for reporting an outbreak of a then-unknown disease. By February 2020, 5,511 criminal cases had been opened against individuals who published information about the outbreak for "fabricating and deliberately disseminating false and harmful information."

In one of the most egregious cases, journalist Zhang Zhan, who traveled to Wuhan in February 2020 to report on the COVID-19 outbreak, went missing in May 2020. It was later revealed that she was detained by the police on charges of "provoking riots" and sentenced to four years in prison.

Many other countries, including Russia, have introduced repressive laws restricting the right to freedom of expression and silencing critics undercover or in the context of the pandemic.

In Uzbekistan, laws on disseminating information that could cause panic or damage the state were in place even before the pandemic. But it was during the spread of the coronavirus, the legislation was tightened - now people can face five to ten years in prison for disseminating such information. Human rights activists claim that the authorities used these laws to hide data on the real extent of the spread of the disease in Uzbekistan and the state of the healthcare system.

In countries in Central Asia mid-March with a difference of several days began to report the first infected. First, Kazakhstan announced this, then Uzbekistan, and then Kyrgyzstan. Tajikistan has long denied that there are cases in the country. The authorities were forced to admit the presence of the virus only on the eve of the arrival of the World Health Organization mission to Tajikistan - at the very end of April. And Turkmenistan to this day denies the presence of coronavirus in the country. The WHO specialists, who also visited the country, did not find it either. Why they didn't find it is still a mystery. Although numerous facts say that there is COVID-19 in the country.


In April 2020, Russia expanded existing legislation to combat “fake news” and introduced criminal penalties for the “public dissemination of knowingly false information” in the context of emergencies. Although the amendments were presented as part of the authorities' measures in connection with the spread of COVID-19, the law will remain in force after the pandemic.

In Belarus, the coronavirus epidemic coincided with large-scale anti-government protests. Human rights activists have registered regular internet shutdowns and deliberate slowdowns in Belarus. Amnesty International believes that access to the Internet and free information is an inalienable human right to freedom of speech and information. Moreover, the authorities themselves denied the existence of the coronavirus for a long time and did not take any measures to stop its spread.

2020 Belarusian protests


The Amnesty International report highlights the role of social media in facilitating the rapid spread of misinformation about COVID-19. This is because the platforms operate on the principle of promoting attention-grabbing content to increase the number of users and do not take sufficient measures to prevent the spread of false and misleading information. The influx of disinformation—whether through social media or directly to people in power who seek to exploit discord and confusion for their own gain—poses a serious threat to the rights to freedom of expression and health. It is becoming increasingly difficult for people to form fully informed opinions and make informed choices about their health based on the best scientific evidence available. The key factor is the variety of sources, as well as the ability to challenge and discuss the available information.



Reference:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol30/4751/2021/en/ 



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