Beware of fake news and false information about the flood situation.

There is a lot of false information.

On September 11, many Fanpages and Facebook pages posted and shared information about a girl from Nghe An who died while providing flood relief to people in Yen Bai province.

According to the posted content, the victim was Nguyen Thi Hoai Thuong, 20 years old, from Nam Dan, Nghe An. The content spread on social networks showed that while helping people in the flooded area of ​​Yen Bai, the boat unfortunately capsized, Thuong was swept away and died.

Many social media sites also described the incident in detail, stating that there were 5 people on the boat at that time. When entering the whirlpool area, the boat capsized, 4 people saved themselves or were rescued by local people, but this 20-year-old girl was crushed by the capsized boat and did not survive.

Thousands of social media users expressed their condolences and admiration for the girl and sent condolences to her family for this great loss.

Just the status posted on Facebook by a person who specializes in charity activities with over 148,000 followers in Nghe An attracted thousands of reactions, comments and hundreds of shares.

Many issues related to protective equipment and safety skills when performing flood relief are also analyzed and dissected by the online community.

However, some social media users also expressed skepticism about the information when the people who posted it could not provide the specific address of the unfortunate girl mentioned above.

Speaking to reporters on the afternoon of September 11, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dung - Head of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Nam Dan district said: "After receiving information from social networks, we asked the communes to review and verify the information; and according to the verification results report from 19/19 communes and towns of the district, there is currently no one as the information spread on social networks".

Similarly, the image of a husband leaving his wife and children in a blue plastic basin moving in the middle of a vast expanse of water, which has been widely shared on social networks in recent days, has recently been "exposed" as just one of the contents of a YouTuber couple with permanent residence in Tan Lap village, Ngoc Linh commune, Vi Xuyen district, Ha Giang province. The trick of this couple to attract views and likes when people in many localities are struggling with storms and floods has caused outrage in public opinion.

In particular, some unverified and false information about children who lost loved ones in storms or officers, soldiers and volunteers who sacrificed their lives while on duty to prevent floods and storms was shared and spread rapidly on social networks, forcing relatives or the main characters to speak up to correct it.

Typically, when the online community continuously shared and spread a clip of a boy crying (supposedly because his mother had been swept away by floods), causing many people to sympathize and grieve, the boy's homeroom teacher later spoke up to correct and affirm that he was not crying because his mother was swept away by the flood, because the time of filming took place when he was in kindergarten at the age of 5, and he is currently a first grader at a school in Meo Vac district, Ha Giang province. Currently, his family is still complete with both father and mother.

Most social media users, sharing and spreading information are gullible, subjective, impatient to express sympathy, share the pain and loss of their compatriots in difficult times and misfortunes. Many people later spoke up to correct and express their indignation when they themselves were also victims of being deceived by fake news and false information.

However, there are also people who deliberately spread and provide false information to attract views and likes, showing a lack of legal knowledge and civic awareness. Some people even provide false information that divides regions, or aims to defraud charitable activities for profit.

Fraudsters also use images and information at locations damaged by storms and floods, and fake fanpages of socio-political organizations (Red Cross, Women's Union) to call on kind-hearted people to transfer money to their personal accounts in order to appropriate it.

Be alert when receiving information

According to Dr., Lawyer Nguyen Trong Hai - Director of Trong Hai and Associates Law Firm:TRecently, many social media accounts have posted and shared fake information and false news on the internet about the flood situation as well as flood and storm prevention and rescue work, causing a stir in public opinion and creating negative impacts on people.

From a social perspective, the impacts and consequences of posting and sharing fake news and false information are enormous, not only affecting the image of the individuals and organizations that post fake or false information, but also seriously affecting their honor and reputation.

From a legal perspective, the act of posting and sharing fake news or false information is a violation of the law and must be handled according to the provisions of the law.

Specifically: the act of posting fake information or false information is one of the prohibited acts as prescribed in Article 8 of the 2018 Law on Cyber ​​Security and depending on the nature and severity of the violation, this act will be subject to disciplinary action, administrative sanctions or criminal prosecution. If damage is caused, compensation must be paid according to the provisions of law in Article 9 of this Law..

In addition to the above sanctions, people who post fake news or false news can also file a civil lawsuit to request compensation for damages (if any) according to the provisions of the 2015 Civil Code.

“In short, sharing, posting and speaking information on cyberspace is the freedom of every citizen. However, during their activities on cyberspace, every citizen must be responsible for the information they post and must be alert when receiving and sharing information to minimize possible violations,” emphasized Dr. Lawyer Nguyen Trong Hai.

Faced with the spread of fake and untrue information related to the flood situation and rescue work, the authorities recommend that people stay alert to information on social networks; follow official information on websites and official newspapers of state agencies and organizations; and do not share information online without accurate verification.

Any act of posting or sharing fake or untrue information about natural disasters and floods will be detected, investigated and strictly handled according to the law.

In addition, people also need to raise their vigilance, not send donations or support to the victims to accounts of unknown origin; at the same time, promote the sharing of warning information widely so that everyone can take precautions.