‘Fake news’ could lead to riots, warns Najib

He says this is necessary because people can be instigated to hate or rise up against government.

KOTA BHARU: The government is looking into introducing laws to curb fake news which is a threat to political stability and public order.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said the move was necessary because the people could be instigated to hate the government or riot due to the influence of fake news.

“We don’t want fake news to spread. This does not mean we control the internet. The internet is free but the freedom must exist with some element of accountability,” he said.

He was speaking to reporters after attending a function with Kelantan federal and state civil servants here today.

It was recently reported that Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May wanted to set up a new unit to intensify efforts to address the spread of fake news and prevent the dissemination of inaccurate information by other countries.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron had also said he wanted to introduce a new law that banned fake news on the internet during the country’s election campaign.

Najib said fake news would also affect the harmony of the general election as had happened previously.

He said the Barisan Nasional (BN) fell victim to fake news and allegations that there were 40,000 voters who were Bangladeshi nationals on polling day.

“BN has also been a victim of false news reports that claimed there was a blackout. The people must think that even if there is a blackout, it is still daylight.

“We close the ballot boxes at 5pm and at 5.30pm it is still bright. You can still count the ballots and the opposition counting agents are there too. So, you cannot cheat in our system, in actual fact,” he added. -FMT