Cameroon introduces law on false news spread on social media

Today, MTN users in several regions of Cameroon were notified via SMS, with a message signed by MINPOSTEL(Ministry of Post and Telecommunication) which read:

"Dear subscriber, publishing as well as spreading false news, including on the social media, are punishable by the penal code and the law."

Is this alert coming because of the spread of knowledge and information on the Anglophone problem in Southern Cameroon. We acknowledge that there is a circulation of false information, but has there not always been?

Why are these alerts coming now?

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Check out screenshots of the messages as received by some MTN subscribers: