The Ministry of Information and Communications fined 26 press agencies a total VND1.8 billion (USD85,710) for violations in the first nine months of this year.
Among those, 10 newspapers were fined a total VND450 million (USD21,428) for publishing inaccurate information. One of the more notable cases was that of Tri Thuc Tre, an online newspaper, which was fined VND207 million (USD9,857) and suspended from posting for three months for depicting women from the southwest of Vietnam in a bad light.
Tri Thuc Tre online newspaper fined VND207 million for an depicting women from the southwest of Vietnam in a bad light
The article, entitled “Three characteristics of southwestern women” was a commentary in which the writer characterised women who live in the region as beautiful, obedient and unintelligent. The writer even used a colleague to exemplify these traits.
Meanwhile, 13 newspaper faced fines for violating advertising regulations. Many of them carried advertisements for nutritional supplements with inaccurate information, while others advertised alcoholic beverages. Television stations which featured too many ads during programming were also fined.
A number of newspapers were fined for publishing images and articles deemed not suitable to Vietnamese culture and traditions. Other cases were related to copyright infringement.
