Tuoitre Online, the online version of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, has been fined VND200 million (US$9,500) for allegedly reporting untrue information and not filtering comments that "undermined national unity", the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has said in a decision announced in the evening of July 16.
 

Tuoi Tre Online has temporarily suspended publication

Accordingly, the paper last month published an article that had misleading information. With the wrongful information provided in the news titled “State President agrees that issuing Law on Protest is needed”, published on June 19, 2018, the newswire gets a fine of VND50 million (US$2,160).
Moreover, the ministry found that readers' comments below the story “Why no highways for the Western region in the master plan?” published on May 26, 2017 harmed national unity, the daily gets another VND170 million (US$7,370) fine and has its operation license revoked within three months.
The paper is obliged to make corrections and apologize for the wrongful information, and pay penalties totaling VND220 million.
“Tuoi Tre Online is under obligation to comply with the punishment issued, and is forced to fulfil on the signing date," stated the decision which was signed and came into effective on July 16.
After the announcement, the paper has announced its apology and temporary farewell with readers within the next three months on its website http://tuoitre.vn.
Its three other publications namely Tuoi Tre print newspaper, Tuoi Tre weekend journal, and Tuoi Tre comics will be in circulation normally.