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ening public peace or tranquility, or insulting the
prestige of the state” (see Euro-Mediterranean
Human Rights Monitor 2020).
Qatar: Article 136 (bis) of Law No. (2) of 2020
amending certain provisions of the Penal Code
promulgated by Law No. (11) of 2004 states:
“Anyone who spreads, publishes or re-publishes rumors, statements, false or malicious news
or sensational propaganda inside or outside the
state, whenever it is intended to harm national interest, incite public opinion, or disturb the social
or public order of the state shall be imprisoned
for a period not exceeding five years with a fine
not exceeding 100,000 riyals or by one of these
two penalties” (Almeezan n.d.).28
Mauritania: Article 3 of Chapter 2 of the Law on
Combating the Manipulation of Information of
2020 states: “Anyone who posts misleading information or fake news online shall be punished
by imprisonment from three months to a year
with a fine ranging between 50,000 to 100,000
ouguiyas” (Republic of Mauritania 2020).
Somalia: Article 29 of the Amendments on the
Media Law of 2020 states: “Severe penalties shall
be imposed for publishing false information, incitement, or spreading propaganda against the
dignity of any citizen, individual, institution or
government” (SJS 2020).
Algeria: Article 196 (bis) of the Amendments
of the Penal Code of 2020 states: “Anyone who
deliberately publishes or promotes false or malicious news among the public for the purpose of
harming public security or public order by any
means shall be imprisoned from one to three
years and fined between 100,000 to 300,000
Algerian dinars. The penalty is doubled in case of
recurrence” (Elmouhami 2020).
In the past two years, some Arab countries have
also tried to pass special laws related to information
disorder or to amend existing articles in legislation,
with potentially deleterious effects. These efforts
failed due to pressure from civil society and human
rights organizations. Below are some of these:
• Jordan: In 2021, the Parliamentary Legal Committee deleted the article related to publishing
false information against any common person or
legal entity with the intention of achieving personal gain. This article was removed from the bill
amending the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Law
of 2020. The Jordanian Center for the Protection
and Freedom of Journalists opposed the amendment of the bill, since it impacted on freedom of
I N FO R M ATI O N D I SO R D ER IN THE GLOBA L SOUTH
expression and of the media (Parliament of Jordan 2021).
• Iraq: In 2021, the Iraqi Parliament announced that
the Cybercrime Bill would be amended before
being passed, to ensure that it protects freedom
of expression instead of suppressing it. The bill
would have enabled the Iraqi authorities to prosecute anyone for any online post the authorities
did not approve of by deeming the content a
threat to governmental, social, or religious interests (Sibbald 2021).
• Morocco: After heavy criticism in 2020, the Moroccan government decided to postpone the
consideration of Bill No. 22.20 on using social
media sites. Articles 16 to 19 of the bill state that
publishing fake news is punishable by up to five
years in prison when the intent is to harm “state
security” (Kacha 2020).
• Tunisia: After objections were brought by Tunisian human rights organizations and associations, in 2020 Al-Mabrouk Karashid, an MP,
retracted Bill No. 29/2020 on electronic slander
and publishing fake news. The bill was submitted in a rush with a number of deputies and was
presented under the pretext of combating false
information (Samaro 2020).
During the Covid-19 crisis, a number of Arab
countries saw an escalation of threats directed
at citizens by governments, public prosecutors,
ministries of interior, and even religious authorities.
These were intended to warn citizens not to spread
false news by any means. The following are some
examples:
• Syria: In January 2021, the Ministry of the Interior warned that anyone who leaked or spread
rumors or who interacted on suspicious pages
would have to bear legal responsibility, in accordance with the provisions of the Penal Code and
the cybercrime laws (Sana 2021).
• Egypt: According to a Cabinet statement in
March 2020, the head of the council, Mostafa
Madbouli, was designated to take legal measures against anyone who spreads false news
and statements or rumors, related to the coronavirus or otherwise, with the aim of disturbing
public security, spreading panic among citizens,
or harming the public interest (State Information
Service Egypt 2020).
• Morocco: In March 2020, as part of the precautionary measures taken by the authorities to
combat the Covid-19 crisis, the Moroccan Ministry of Interior urged citizens to be wary of circulating false news attributed to official authorities
Middle East and North Africa – 52