published : 3 Aug 2021 at 12:59
28 Pictures of bitterleaf and the warning from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society about fake claims that bitterleaf can cure Covid-19. (Photo supplied)
Any claim that the leaves of bitterleaf trees can cure Covid-19 is fake news, according to the Royal Thai Police Office.
Pol Col Kissana Pattanacharoen, deputy spokesman, said the Anti-Fake News Centre Thailand found the claim about bitterleaf s properties on Tuesday and sought verification from the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine.
The department confirmed that it was not true. No research showed bitterleaf leaves could cure Covid-19, he said.
Such fake news appeared online every day and concerned officials would take legal action against the sources. It was in breach of at least the Computer Crimes Act. Offenders were liable to up to five years in prison and/or a fine of 100,000 baht, Pol Col Kissana said.
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[Royal Thai Government handout via AFP]
Six leading Thai professional media associations, in a joint statement Wednesday, condemned what they said was an official assault on the public’s right to accurate information as well as free speech during a pandemic.
The associations urged journalists to call on Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha to stop threatening to sue news organizations that disseminate what he described as fake or distorted reports about the government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
“We call upon all professionals in the media and news agencies to stand in unison and oppose the government’s new measures,” the groups said.
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