Qatar’s Ministry issues warning against spreading fake stories

With the fast rise of the Internet, one of the heaviest casualties has been trustworthiness of news stories. More often than not, you hear about fantastic happenings around you, only to discover a few days later that it was the sick figment of someone’s imagination.

Qatar, as a nation, has always tried to keep rumours from spreading online. However, the rumour mills have been functioning overtime.

In an official tweet, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior (MoI) has warned users against spreading false rumours.

Rumour mongering and spreading stories from unknown sources will harm others and those involved will be held legally accountable. #MoI_Qatar

— Ministry of Interior (@MOI_QatarEn) May 8, 2017

The Peninsula cited various incidents in the recent past which finally turned out to be fake reports.

Many readers had queried them about an alert about Qatar witnessing very high temperatures, which turned out to be fake.

Last week, Woqod had to tweet from its official handle to dispel rumours about tampering at its various petrol pumps.

Earlier this year, there had been rumours spreading online that a tsunami was set to hit several GCC countries, including Qatar. Understandably, people went into a tizzy and it turned out to be false.

In February, the Traffic authorities had to clarify rumours on social media suggesting that a new alphabet — Q — had been added to Qatari car number plates.

All these instances show that people need to take news they receive on social media platforms, most often as forwards, with a pinch of salt.

At the same time, if you are one of those creative kinds who would start rumour mongering at the drop of a hat, then you need to be really careful as the MoI is on your case.