The Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) has been ordered by Parliament to tighten its grip on fake news and malicious information perpetrators on social media.

While chairing the plenary session on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Annet Anita Among, said UCC must tighten its operation to mitigate rampant misuse of social media to spread information she considers malicious and fake.

She also cautioned the public against the increasing abuse of internet usage and tasked UCC with clamping down on the perpetrators of fake and malicious information.

“How can you say I rebuked Minister Bahati? They don’t know the person they are dealing with; I will handle them,” Speaker Among said.

The Speaker was responding to a malicious online article that alleged that she had rebuked the Minister of State for Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives (industry) and the Member of Parliament for Ndorwa County West in Kabale district, David Bahati, saying he is an incompetent minister for failing to resolve the standoff with traders.

Recently, the Minister of Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT), Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, described rampant fake news as a threat to professional journalism in Uganda.