NCC Fines EBC and CTi for reporting Fake News

 NCC Fines EBC and CTi for reporting Fake News

Source: United Daily News

January 17, 2019

National Communications Commission (NCC) determined two news reports as fake news: 1) From Eastern Broadcasting Company (EBC): “Internet Rumor: Purchase on Taobao then Get Pork Sausages for Free, BAPHIQ Suggests to Fully Cook before Eating or Cook and Throw Them Away”; and 2) from Chung T'ien Television (CTi) :“Chen Chi-mai’s (陳其邁) campaign rallies in Qishan (旗山) and Meinong (美濃) , Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) Asks Crowds Not to Leave.” NCC believed that both hampered public order, violating TV stations’ duty to verify. Therefore, the two TV stations were each fined NT $200,000. This was the first time that NCC fined a media outlet since amendments to the radio and TV broadcasting laws were promulgated in 2016.

Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗), vice president and spokesman of NCC, explained yesterday at a routine press conference that when the CTi News reported news on the election campaign of Kaoshiung mayoral candidate, Chen Chi-mai, it misinterpreted hostess Chui Yi-ying’s words “nobody leaves” in Taiwanese dialect as “please don’t leave”. He said, therefore, the report was not true.

In addition, in the EBC news story, according to the NCC, it did not demonstrate the correct information about the prevention of swine fever because the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) actually suggested the public to dispose of the meat sausages only after being fully cooked.

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