Numerous cases involving individuals spreading rumors against government departments and officials through social media outlets have been referred to court.

Several net surfers have been caught exchanging fabricated clips through Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp to mobilize public anger against government departments.

A videoclip depicting a fight between African women and Saudi women in Jeddah gained wide publicity recently. The death of 25 people in a landslide in Makkah was another fake message exchanged recently through social media outlets.

“We are following up on the dissemination of all such videoclips, which are made with the aim of targeting public departments and individuals,” said Nawaf Al-Bouq, spokesman of Jeddah police.

“We have a special section for monitoring such electronic crimes. We will analyze such messages using advanced systems to uncover the perpetrators behind such crimes.”

Al-Bouq said police have tracked down individuals who were behind some of these bogus videoclips and referred them to court for further action. “The court has issued verdicts on some cases.”