A written warning about the violation of the Law on Mass Media was issued to the owner of the news website media-polesye.by, the Belarusian Health Ministry reports.
On April 4, the online media outlet posted the article ‘Luninets District Resident Tested Positive for Coronavirus’. According to it, the woman was taken to Minsk and hospitalised, but her husband died in a local hospital.
As it became clear later, the man was admitted to the intensive care unit and diagnosed with double pnemounia. Although the authors had referred to the Brest Hygiene and Epidemiology Centre, the local authorities launched a check over publishing inaccurate information about the man’s death and blamed Mediapolesye for ‘creating fake news’.
The article contributed to misinforming the Belarusians and spreading panic amid the outbreak of COVID-19, the statement reads.
As of today, the number of the infected with COVID-19 has totalled to 700 in Belarus; 13 persons have died.
In March, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka ordered the State Security Committee (KGB) to confront those who are spreading fake information about the novel coronavirus. It should be noted, however, that Belarusian officials often decline comments to independent media.
