Correct inaccurate crisis reports clearly and promptly

During a crisis, incorrect claims about danger, evacuation or road closures can change someone’s immediate decisions. Cybercrime law treats specified emergency circumstances more severely; a responsible correction should prevent an inaccurate impression from continuing to spread.

Digital rightsUnited Arab EmiratesSources checked:
  1. The law distinguishes ordinary circumstances from particular crises, epidemics, emergencies and disasters. Repeating an unfounded warning can cause alarm or disruption; intending to help is not by itself permission to circulate every unverified claim presented as an urgent safety message.

  2. Check the responsible authority’s current announcement, including its time and geographical scope. Do not turn an instruction for one building or road into a city-wide warning or present an old incident image as evidence of a current danger. Use official emergency channels for immediate real danger.

  3. If you already shared inaccurate material, stop forwarding it and issue a clear correction to the same audience with a reliable source. Explain the mistaken impression without repeating harmful details, retaining relevant records; deletion or correction does not guarantee that legal responsibility has ended.

A practical next step

Compare crisis information with the latest official announcement; if you previously shared an error, promptly notify the same recipients with a sourced correction.

Official sources

Adapted from a photo post shared on Dr. Bahrami’s Instagram and checked against official sources. This page provides the updated guidance.

Original Instagram post
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