Petition · past parliament · Ministry of Justice

Make the spreading of misinformation about a civil or health crisis an offence

Closed 60 signatures

What the petition asks

The spreading of Lies and misinformation during a health or other civil crisis in the UK need to be made a criminal offence. During the Covid crisis this has caused the further spreading of the virus and the prolonging of lockdown, increasing the damage to the economy.
The act of spreading lies and misinformation about Covid has led others to rebel against wearing masks, not respecting lockdown laws and has caused vaccination hesitancy. Combined these actions have lead to more unnecessary suffering and deaths. Lockdowns have been prolonged and the economy has been damaged more than necessary. The people spreading the baseless false information to created fear, doubt and uncertainty must be held to account. Making it a criminal offence should deter them.

Timeline

13 Apr 2021 Petition opened for signatures
13 Oct 2021 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 60
Status Closed
Department Ministry of Justice
Opened 13 Apr 2021
Closed 13 Oct 2021

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.