HANOI, June 4, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Vietnamese police said Wednesday they had arrested administrators of a YouTube channel with two million subscribers for allegedly spreading false information about state officials.

Rights campaigners say the government in one-party Vietnam has in recent years stepped up a crackdown on civil society and weaponised the law to silence critics, especially people posting on social media.

Human Rights Watch said in April that members of the public were being targeted through an expansion of the scope of article 331 of the penal code, which centres on the "infringement of state interests".

On Wednesday police in Ho Chi Minh City said they arrested Le Van Can, the lead administrator of Nguoi Dua Tin (The Messenger) YouTube channel, for "abusing democratic freedoms" under article 331.

His two assistants were also taken into custody, accused of the same crime.

Since March last year, the channel had published more than 6,700 video clips "with negative and distorted information targeting individuals and organisations in the political system, as well as policies and guidelines of the party and the state", police said in an online statement.

It was not clear whether the three men had created the videos, which police say had been collectively viewed a billion times.

Their behaviour "badly impacted public opinions and caused social disorder", police said, adding the accused had illegally earned more than $380,000 (10 billion dong) for running the channel, which was deactivated prior to the arrests.

According to HRW, between 2018 and February 2025, Vietnamese courts convicted and sentenced at least 124 people to harsh prison terms under article 331.

In the six years to 2017, only 28 were sentenced under equivalent laws, the group said.