On July 26, multiple individuals on social media, especially Facebook, shared posts, images, and videos falsely linking a female employee of a company to a list of people supposedly infected with HIV by her, causing public panic and outrage.
Local authorities stepped in to investigate. The Internal Political Security Division of Thai Nguyen Police summoned Nguyen Thi N. (born 1986), residing in Tuc Duyen Ward, Thai Nguyen City, for using her personal Facebook account to post inappropriate and false information claiming the female worker infected multiple men with HIV.
The posts included images of the female worker alongside a list of infected individuals. At the police station, Nguyen Thi N. admitted to posting fake and misleading information that damaged the reputation of organizations and harmed the dignity and honor of individuals. She voluntarily issued a public correction on her Facebook page.
Thai Nguyen Police issued an official record and fined Nguyen Thi N. 7.5 million VND for “providing and sharing false, distorted, defamatory information that harms the reputation of organizations and the honor and dignity of individuals.”
Regarding the incident, the company issued a statement to the Department of Health confirming that the female worker mentioned in the viral posts is not their employee. The list of HIV-infected individuals is also unrelated to the company’s staff. They urged authorities to verify and handle those spreading false information that harms the company’s image and the dignity of its employees.
The female worker targeted by the false rumors has also reported to the police, accusing those responsible of defaming her honor and dignity. Authorities in Thai Nguyen continue to investigate and track down the source of the false information to take legal action.
