The Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Judith Nabakooba, has cautioned the public against spreading fake news on different social media platforms using fake accounts which mislead the public.
She said most of fake news spread on the social media is mostly about government officials which means her ministry won't pay a deaf hear to such despicable actions.
"Why do you spread false information? Are you planning to tarnish the image of government and it's personalities? As a ministry we are very concerned. We are going to investigate this matter up-to its logical conclusion because we want to know the hidden intention,"she said.
She made the comments after a fake social media post claimed that the first lady, Janet Kataha Museveni, had tested positive for Coronavirus.
"I want to tell the public that the first lady is safe and sound and she has no complaints. So we wonder the intentions behind spreading such false information,"she said.
She noted that the Uganda Communication Commission and police have started investigations into the source of the fake news.
"We are concerned and we have directed UCC and Uganda police force to investigate the intention and also to arrest the people behind such social media false information,"she said.
She noted that much as the constitution grants freedom of speech to all the people of Uganda but the government won't allow dissemination of false information which mislead the public
She appealed to the citizens to always get accurate and credible information from the official websites and social media accounts to avoid fake news.
"I urged you to always check on our official websites and also on different social media accounts for government officials for the credible information," she said.
