Dubai: Don’t believe the hype circulating on social media, as they cause more harm than good.
The Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) warned the public on the dangers surrounding food rumours, especially as the concerns about the products in question were unfounded.
“From 2013 to 2018, the ADFCA responded to 49 rumours related to food products circulated on social networking sites,” announced the ADFCA.
The government department also explained that some of the rumours intended to harm the brands, which may have been circulated by competitors in the market.
How to confirm food rumours
To learn more about the safety of food brands, the government organisation called on residents to verify the product’s safety through contacting the ADFCA via telephone on 800 555, email at inquiries@adfca.ae, or through its official Twitter account @adfca.
— الرقابة الغذائية (@ADFCA) October 7, 2018
Some of the food products targeted by rumours on social networking sites included harmful nuts, plastic rice, Acrylamide in coffee, and nitrogen in ice cream.
According to the UAE’s anti-cybercrime law, people who circulate rumours can be fined up to Dh1 million.
To curb misinformation from spreading across the country, the National Media Council (NMC) launched a campaign last April to warn the public on how to spot fake news, which includes checking the URL of the site, investigating the source and looking for other reports on the topic.
• Up to Dh1 million fine if you do this
Mansoor Al Mansoori, Director General of NMC, previously stressed that the NMC is at the forefront of protecting news consumers from lies and misinformation through its regulatory function that constantly reviews and evaluates the UAE's media landscape, setting standards to ensure high quality news.
"The issue of false news is one that has increased in prominence with the explosion in use of social media in recent years," Al Mansoori said.
"False news can have a political dimension where one party posts false information designed to damage another party, or it can have a financial dimension, with sensationalist or misleading material being deliberately posted,” he said.
