Fanpage and group owners should take note to avoid having their accounts and channels locked from July 1

Users get lost in the matrix of fake news and false information

In May, a post on the social network account "Clean Market" with the content "rice dried outdoors in hot weather exploded into burns" suddenly went viral, attracting thousands of interactions and comments.

However, the verification results of the authorities showed that this information was not true. The poster admitted that he took the image from social networks, edited it and posted it to attract attention.

Recently, Ca Mau Provincial Police continued to verify information on a Facebook social networking page named "G.N.T.T" that posted content "Police arrested a facility that made dried shrimp from rubber, mixing extremely toxic banned chemicals".

This post confused many consumers, somewhat affecting the reputation of traditional local dried shrimp products.

Through inspection and review of all production and business establishments in Cai Nuoc commune (Ca Mau), the authorities determined that the information was false and invited a subject residing in Hanoi to work to serve the investigation and handling work.

From rumors about child kidnapping, natural disasters, epidemics, food safety to information about businesses, celebrities or state agencies, many unverified content is continuously shared and spread at breakneck speed.

Notably, a lot of information is distributed through fanpages and groups with a large number of members.

With just one sensational or shocking post, information can reach hundreds of thousands of people in a short time, creating negative impacts on society.

In particular, the development of generative AI makes creating fake images, videos or content easier than ever.

Users are therefore always placed in a difficult situation to distinguish between real and fake, easily infected by false and baseless information.

Over the years, the situation of spreading fake and false news has tended to become increasingly complicated. Even "rage bait" was voted "Word of the Year 2025" by Oxford University Press.

The term reflects the fact that much content on social networks is created to cause controversy and stir up emotions in exchange for views and interactions.

A series of new sanctions

In the context of fake and false news increasingly spreading on social networks, Decree 174/2026/ND-CP has added many sanctions to increase the responsibility of users of social networking services, especially fanpage owners, content channel owners and administrators of online groups.

According to Point a, Clause 1, Article 95 of the Decree, acts of providing or sharing fake information, false information, distortion, slander or insulting the reputation of agencies, organizations, honor and dignity of individuals can be fined from 20 to 30 million VND.

Notably, this Decree clearly stipulates the responsibilities of account owners, fanpage owners, content channel owners and administrators of groups on social networks.

Specifically, account owners, content channel owners, community page owners or community group administrators may be fined from 20 to 30 million VND if they do not prevent or remove information that violates the law, information that affects the legitimate rights and interests of other organizations and individuals, or information that affects children when requested by competent authorities.

This means that administrators are no longer simply creators of online communities but are responsible for monitoring, controlling and coordinating the handling of infringing content appearing on the platforms they manage.

For more serious acts, the fine can increase from 30 to 50 million VND. Typically, the act of posting or sharing false information causes confusion among the people, causing damage to socio-economic activities.

In addition to administrative penalties, the Decree adds remedial measures. Accordingly, violators are required to remove false, misleading information or content that violates the law.

In cases of serious violations specified in Clause 2, Article 95, authorities can also apply measures to lock accounts, community pages, community groups or channels with violating content.