In spite of significant economic reforms and a willingness to embrace social change, the party has shown zero tolerance for criticism, with leader Nguyen Phu Trong cracking down on dissent and activists since his re-election in 2016. According to a spokesperson for Amnesty, at least 16 individuals have been arrested, detained, or convicted this year for posting anti-government content on Facebook, while 12 political prisoners are currently incarcerated 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 Vietnamese government, as reported by the Vietnam News Agency. The agency stated that Diep also disseminated misleading information about the country's policies, leading to misunderstandings among Facebook users and residents regarding the party and government. The posts were shared on social media between April 2014 and June 2019. In 2016, he was imprisoned for 21 months in Laos for spreading anti-Vietnamese material. Diep is the third person to be jailed this month, following a music teacher who was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Nov. 15 for similar anti-government posts on Facebook, and a 38-year-old man who was jailed for broadcasting 33 live video sessions encouraging people to protest during national holidays. In a separate incident, a 54-year-old architect was jailed for a year last month for posting anti-government content on Facebook. Facebook is widely used in Vietnam for both e-commerce and political expression. It was reported in May that the amount of restricted content in Vietnam had increased more than six times in the second half of 2018. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called on Hanoi to stop cracking down on an independent publisher and criticized the limitations on freedom of speech that result in people being arrested and imprisoned for expressing their opinions. The groups stated on Wednesday that this crackdown has intensified the atmosphere of fear in Vietnam.