The 55-year-old man was arrested on Monday, Western Cape police confirmed.
He has been charged under a regulation of the Disaster Management Act, in relation to "publishing any statement through any medium including social media with the intention to deceive any other person about measures by the government to address Covid-19."
The penalty could be a fine or up to six months imprisonment. The regulation was published on March 18, making fake news and disinformation about Covid-19 a criminal offence in South Africa.
Police arrest man over fake claim that Covid test kits are contaminated
Image: SUHAIB SALEM
A Cape Town man will on Tuesday appear in court after he was arrested for a Facebook video claiming SA's test kits for the coronavirus were contaminated.
The 55-year-old man was arrested on Monday, Western Cape police confirmed.
He has been charged under a regulation of the Disaster Management Act, in relation to "publishing any statement through any medium including social media with the intention to deceive any other person about measures by the government to address Covid-19."
The penalty could be a fine or up to six months imprisonment. The regulation was published on March 18, making fake news and disinformation about Covid-19 a criminal offence in South Africa.
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