VTV fined for reporting false information about the age of footballer Cong Phuong.

On the afternoon of December 30, 2014, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Information and Communications issued Decision No. 1987/QD-XPVPHC, fining VTV 15 million VND for providing false information about the age of footballer Nguyen Cong Phuong in the "Chuyen Dong 24h" program broadcast on VTV1. VTV is also required to correct the aforementioned false information in accordance with the law.

The VTV reporter's investigative report on the alleged age fraud by footballer Cong Phuong was broadcast on "Chuyen Dong 24h" on November 16th:

On the afternoon of December 30, 2014, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Information and Communications issued Decision No. 1987/QD-XPVPHC, fining VTV 15 million VND for providing false information about the age of footballer Nguyen Cong Phuong in the "Chuyen Dong 24h" program broadcast on VTV1. Specifically, the false information was: "Cong Phuong's birth year of 1995 started appearing in 2006" (November 8, 2014); "Up to this point, all other documents, as we have proven, are invalid" (November 16, 2014). VTV must also correct the aforementioned false information in accordance with the law.

During a meeting with relevant agencies of the Ministry of Information and Communications on the afternoon of December 30, 2014, a representative from VTV stated that the programs broadcast regarding the age of footballer Cong Phuong had not reached any conclusion about his year of birth, but only pointed out inconsistencies in records stating his age. In the programs already broadcast, we (VTV) also used images of footballer Cong Phuong that have become widely known in the mass media.

Based on information from the press, VTV investigated and found many inconsistencies and contradictions regarding the true age of player Cong Phuong. VTV raised these issues for the player himself or the relevant authorities to explain or clarify. After the program aired, VTV continued to receive documents showing ambiguities and contradictions in Cong Phuong's birth certificate and school records.

The minutes of the meeting also clearly state the opinion of VTV's representative as follows: "In compliance with the general directive, we will not continue to exploit the content and request to provide it to the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Information and Communications for further guidance. Therefore, it cannot yet be said that the program contains false information. We acknowledge our shortcomings in the way the program was presented, the broadcast time was inappropriate, and we need to learn from this experience."

Previously, in mid-November 2014, the online community was abuzz after VTV broadcast an investigation into allegations of age fraud against footballer Cong Phuong on the "Chuyen Dong 24h" program for three episodes on November 13, 15, and 16, 2014.

Public opinion has been outraged by the way Chuyển động 24h (24h News) reports, especially after the midday news broadcast on November 15th where writer Nguyen Quang Vinh and editor Ngoc Trinh debated the purpose of investigating Cong Phuong's true age. Editor Ngoc Trinh argued that the goal was not to belittle Cong Phuong but to protect honesty in sports, because dishonesty (age fraud) risks killing a young talent.

Subsequently, on the evening of November 16th, the "24h News" program continued to release evidence that VTV reporters had collected while investigating the truth about footballer Cong Phuong's age. "24h News" published information about Cong Phuong's personal life, including: his original birth certificate, a copy of his birth certificate, household registration book, primary school report card, primary school graduation certificate, and a population registration record kept at the Do Luong District Police Station… All this evidence aims to prove that Cong Phuong was born in 1993, not 1995 as stated in his records at the Hoang Anh Gia Lai Football Academy.

Following this series of investigative reports, the online community expressed outrage and demanded that VTV apologize to footballer Cong Phuong for disclosing his personal information without his consent.

The incident caused such a public uproar that the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) subsequently invited representatives from VTV for a meeting. Following this, the MIC sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice to verify the legality of personal information such as birth certificates, household registration books, and school records. At the same time, the MIC also requested the Ministry of Justice to verify Cong Phuong's birth certificate.

As of December 5, 2014, the Nghe An Department of Justice officially confirmed: "Cong Phuong was born on January 21, 1995." This information was provided to the press by Mr. Hoang Quoc Hao, Director of the Nghe An Department of Justice. Mr. Hao stated that he would report the verification results to the Ministry of Justice and the Chairman of the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee for public announcement in the media.

According to Mr. Hao, on November 21st, the Justice Department of Do Luong District (Nghe An) sent a document containing the results regarding the true age of citizen Nguyen Cong Phuong. Due to some unclear points, the Department of Justice instructed Mr. Duong Huu Dung, Deputy Director of the Department, to form a working group to go to the locality to verify the information again.

By December 4th, the working group had arrived in My Son commune to conduct an inspection and had reported the results to higher authorities regarding Cong Phuong's true age, which matched the age previously provided by the Do Luong District Justice Department.

A live debate between writer Nguyen Quang Vinh and editor Ngoc Trinh on the "Chuyen Dong 24h" program regarding the age fraud allegations against footballer Cong Phuong took place on the afternoon of November 15th:

According to ICTnews