VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has decided to revoke press cards of two journalists working for Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper.

The Ministry of Information and Communications has decided to revoke the press cards of two journalists working for Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper. Photo illustration

The decision, signed by MIC Minister Truong Minh Tuan on Monday, said press cards of the newspaper’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief Dang Ngoc Hoa and newsroom General Secretary Vo Van Khoi were withdrawn as a disciplinary action for violating the press law.

Hoa was given a disciplinary warning, while Khoi had been dismissed from the the editors’ board and from his position as newsroom general secretary of the newspaper’s printed version.

The press cards, valid from 2016-2020, were both granted to them at Thanh Nien newspaper.

The two journalists were punished for working on a series of five fish sauce-related articles published on Thanh Nien between October 10 and 17, which duped readers into believing that the fish sauce they consumed almost every day may be unsafe.

Their publication followed the release of a survey by the Vietnam Standards and Consumers Association (Vinastas), which claimed that most fish sauce in Viet Nam contained an excessive amount of arsenic.

With their news stories and the Vinastas survey results creating fear among local consumers, the Ministry of Health later issued an official statement, asserting that all of the fish sauce samples tested by the association were safe for use.

The MIC’s revoking decision is based on the 1998 Press Law and Government Decree No. 51, issued in 2002, that regulates the implementation of the press law.

VNS