Indonesian clerics are preparing to issue a fatwa against “fake news” after a series of damaging hoaxes on social media which targeted the Chinese and Christian minorities.

The move follows growing concern in the world’s most populous Muslim nation about the spread of fake news – a phenomenon that has been credited with fuelling recent ethnic and political tensions.

Some of the spurious items in recent months include a claim that China was using contaminated chilli seeds to wage biological warfare against Indonesia, a claim that the design of new monetary notes contains an image of the communist hammer and sickle, and a claim that Indonesia has been inundated by ten million Chinese migrant workers (the government says the number was actually 21,000).

Joko Widodo, the Indonesian president and the subject of numerous viral hoaxes, responded to the latter claim by stating: “Ten million is the number of Chinese tourists we hope will come."

The fake news campaigns have led to public protests and have now prompted the Indonesian Ulema Council to propose a fatwa which would decree that spreading slander and lies is haram, or forbidden.

Ma'ruf Amin, the council’s chairman, said he wanted to co-operate on the fatwa with the government and had discussed it with the minister of communication and education.