COVID-19 Fuels Wave of Misinformation in Morocco Amid Protests

Internet users swear they have heard rumors of a march on Sunday evening. Fake news, according to barlamane.com which reports that "this noise of the crowd was nothing but the people of Tangier, perched on their windows, terraces and balconies, chanting Allahou Akbar". The information was also denied by the local authorities, after the dissemination on social networks of a video of demonstrations. According to the same source, this video is a montage of old demonstrations that took place in Laâyoune.

The only facts recorded on Sunday were the arrests of criminals who had violated the mandatory confinement on the night of Saturday, March 21. Non-compliance with the state of emergency declared on Friday, March 20 for one month, is "an offense punishable by a fine of 300 to 1,300 dirhams and 3 months in prison, or both penalties combined".

The spread of coronavirus in Morocco has further made the ground fertile for misinformation with its share of consequences such as panic, confusion, and doubt. Citizens are being misled. The Moroccan authorities are currently waging a relentless fight against those who create and spread false information related to the coronavirus epidemic.

It is in this context that the judicial police have carried out a series of arrests, in several cities in Morocco, of people who have disseminated false information.