In spite of significant economic and social changes in the country, the ruling party led by Nguyen Phu Trong has become increasingly intolerant of criticism. Since his re-election in 2016, there has been a crackdown on dissidents and activists, resulting in the arrest, detention, or conviction of at least 16 individuals this year for posting anti-government content on Facebook. An additional 12 political prisoners are currently in custody on similar charges. Pham Van Diep, a 54-year-old activist from Thanh Hoa province, was sentenced to nine years in prison for spreading false information that defamed the Communist Party and the Vietnamese government, according to the Vietnam News Agency. The agency claimed that Diep's actions led to misunderstandings among Facebook users and residents regarding the party and government policies. The posts were published on Facebook between April 2014 and June 2019. In 2016, he was sentenced to 21 months in prison in Laos for distributing anti-Vietnamese literature. Diep is the third person to be imprisoned this month. Another person, a music teacher, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on November 15 for similar anti-government posts on Facebook. A 38-year-old man was also imprisoned for broadcasting 33 live video sessions, which aimed to incite protests during national holidays, according to the court. In a separate case, a 54-year-old architect was jailed for a year for posting anti-government content on Facebook. Facebook is widely used in Vietnam for e-commerce and for expressing political dissent. It was reported in May that there has been a significant increase in the amount of content restricted in Vietnam compared to the last half of 2018. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called on Hanoi to stop cracking down on an independent publisher and criticized the restrictions on freedom of expression that have led to people being arrested and jailed for speaking out. The groups stated that this crackdown has intensified the atmosphere of fear in Vietnam.