GOVERNMENTS PROPAGANDA BEING BACKFIRED VIS-À-VIS

FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION AMID COVID-19

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a powerful basis for suppression of speech and expression by
governments. The restriction of speech is one problem that constantly troubled China's struggle
with the outbreak of coronavirus that resulted in a high price for China, as well as the rest of
the globe.

The rapid development of COVID-19 related misinformation was identified by the World Health
Organization as an "Infodemic". An Infodemic is defined as “an overabundance of information,
some accurate and some not, that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources or reliable
guidance when they need it.”1

TRACING HISTORY

Different Governments throughout the world, particularly for the health workers, have chosen to
suffocate freedom of expression and speech in an attempt to resolve the COVID-19 pandemic. Li
Wenliang 's unfortunate end, the Chinese doctor, was forced to retrace his claims about the
spread of the virus. Then, consolidated democracies such as the UK, the U.S. and India followed
China's lead to suppress the transparent and free debate2.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN INDIA

In West Bengal, India, a FIR was reported against a health professional who spoke of COVID-19
health workers' lack of security equipment. Fortunately, the High Court in Calcutta ruled not to
be arrested but not to be permitted to post something on the topic on Facebook furthermore. In
order to counter what is called the "false news," the Indian Supreme Court gave the media a step
further to publish official versions of the events.

1
World Health Organization. Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situation Report-13 , 2020.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports.
2
Nirmalaya Chaudhuri, COVID-19: Restricting Health Workers’ Free Speech has a Chilling Effect – Health and
Human Rights Journal (2020), https://www.hhrjournal.org/2020/05/covid-19-restricting-health-workers-free-
speech-has-a-chilling-effect/.
Recent cases like the case of Dr. Indranil Khan and Siddharth Varadarajan, among others,
suggested that the trend towards open reporting and opinion on the country's coronavirus
situation appears to be alarming in India. This article analyzes the problems of freedom of speech
raised by the laws which are possibly unique in the COVID-19 case, although it has several
different laws and ways in which the government can and has in the past curbed freedom of
expression3.

AROUND THE WORLD

Media reports have shown that the National Health Service's doctors and nurses in UK were
asked to be quiet on their terms of employment. Hospitals and clinics in the US allegedly
threatened to fire health workers, if they complain about the shortage of security equipment in
the public domain. Such a reduction in freedom of speech appears to be below the legal
proportionality requirements and is indeed a breach of human rights4.

IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPARENCY

The stakes could not be higher, decisions will determine life or death, not only in patients with
COVID 19, but in shaping our societies' future. Transparency is a central element of good
governance and transparency must be upheld if there is no change in oversight by those in
power5.

Restrictions on human rights should rationally be related to the specific purpose the State seeks
to accomplish, as defined by legal principles6. In addition, steps must be required for the least
restrictive ways and proportionate means of achieving that goal. States can justify restrictions on
the preservation of public health and public order in emergency situations (Article 19(3) of the

3
Aryan Ahmed, Freedom of Speech and Expression during the Coronavirus Lockdown (2020),
https://www.barandbench.com/apprentice-lawyer/freedom-of-speech-and-expression-in-the-times-of-
coronavirus.
4
Sarah Jhonson, NHS staff forbidden from speaking out publicly about coronavirus | Society | The Guardian (2020).
5
Julia Keseru. Are we asking the right questions? The role of transparency during COVID19 , 2020.
https://medium.com/@jkeserue/are-we-asking-the-right-questions-the-role-of-transparency-during-covid19-
7810ffd89730.
6
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, (2011).
ICCPR7) and for panic and chaos prevention. Even if this argument is recognised, it may be
argued that these limitations are necessary and proportionate8.

ARGUEMENT AGAINST THE PRESENT APPROACH

An alternate solution to coping with health workers' issues and rights would be to establish a
framework through which policymakers would learn about health workers' facts and realistic
experiences. However, the authorities have clearly responded by restricting their right to talk
without having appropriate equipment 9 and without warning the public of facts concerning health
in those health facilities, in the absence of these reconciliatory steps. Thus, these bodies limited
the right to freedom of speech, threatened the health rights of health employees and restricted the
public's right to truthful information to preserve public order. The cost of upholding law and
order can not be so immense10.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Open formats are life-saving. It is the core responsibility of the government in times of crisis in
public health to make accurate, timely and clear information available 11.

Make specific data on the number of patients newly infected and the recoverers, including
geographical details areas affected by COVID-19 propagation and supply both Explanations
for testing protocol scientific and easy to understand and presentation of the methodology of
the results.
Meet legal requirements for data security and privacy.
Hold regular public and health officials briefings and try to present the current situation in a
compassionate and easily understandable way, and ensure access to public and official
records through the media.

7
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, (1966),
https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx.
8
George Letsas & Virginia Mantouvalouv, COVID-19 and free speech: 'gagging' NHS staff is not proportionate and
lawful | British Politics and Policy at LSE (2020), https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/covid-19-and-free-
speech/.
9
Therese Raphele, Hospitals are losing Coronavirus battle (2020),
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-03/coronavirus-doctors-don-t-have-what-they-need-to-
stay-safe.
10
Ibid no 2
11
United Nations. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights . COVID-19: Governments must promote and
protect access to and free flow of information during pandemic - International experts . Op.cit.
 Communicate in all languages spoken, including minority and sign languages, taking digital
literacy into account, and additional obstacles.

EXAMPLES AROUND THE WORLD

In Argentina, two people have been imprisoned for disseminating false information online by
narrowly interpreting the penal code's provisions which impose a prison term of up to six
years for the incitement of public fear 12.
The Bolivian President issued a decree that those who incite disobedience to the government
measures to combat COVID-19 are prosecuted for crimes against public health, either
'misinform' or 'cause of insecurity' among the public13.
A total of one reporter for publishing "misleading" is arrested in Ethiopia as Government’s
response to COVID-19 facts. According to media outlets the government has ordered
200,000 graves to be excavated, as per Yayasew Shemelse.
As President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta urged law enforcement authorities to arrest "fake-
news proprietors,14" at least one person was arrested on account of the "spreading of
misleading and alarming COVID-19 facts.15"

CONCLUSION

In this article I have stressed on the potential harm that can be caused by the spread of
misinformation. It has the power to strengthen existing divisions and inspire in societies
unjustified fears and panic. Misinformation was leveraged and greatly contributed to the social
stigma in online hate speech against certain groups during the times of COVID-19.

Government have to align policies to address disinformation and misinformation with

international human rights commitments and the rule of law in order to protect the public safety

12
Canal 9 noticias (Chile). Influencer argentino es detenido por difundir información falsa sobre covid-19 , 2020.
https://www.canal9.cl/programas/noticias/2020/03/31/influencer-argentino-es-detenido-por-difundir-
informacion-falsa-de-covid-19.shtml.
13
Human Rights Watch. Bolivia: decreto sobre COVID-19 amenaza la libertad de expresión , 2020.
https://www.hrw.org/es/news/2020/04/07/bolivia-decreto-sobre-covid-19-amenaza-la-libertad-de-expresion.
14
Tracy Mutinda. COVID-19 Arrest Purveyors of Fake News- Uhuru. The Star, 2020.
https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2020-03-19-covid-19-arrest-purveyors-of-fake-news-uhuru/.
15
Grace Ng’ang’a. Kenyan Man Arrested for Fake Corona Virus Post on Social Media, 2020.
https://new.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001364432/kenyan-man-arrested-for-fake-corona-virus-post-on-social-
media.
and stability of the democracies that are going forward. COVID-19 is best approached by letting
the facts to come out, regardless of whether they are convenient or not.