“Recently, there has been a significant increase in disinformation or fake news, whether about the Covid-19 pandemic, vaccinations, health, social issues or political issues,” said Communications and Multimedia Minister Saifuddin Abdullah.
He said, if allowed to persist, the situation could cause confusion and annoyance among the public and undermine efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic effectively.
“The government through the Communications and Multimedia Ministry as well some of the agencies involved acted proactively in curbing the rise of fake news, particularly that concerning Covid-19.
“The Quick Response Team since March 2020 has repelled a total of 464 fake news items.
“In addition, the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance (No 2) 2021 was also enforced
starting March 2021 to prevent and take action against the spread of news false about Covid-19 and health,” he said in a statement today.
Just yesterday, two separate statements claiming that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi are resigning were established to be fake according to their respective aides.
The false statements come after Zahid challenged Muhyiddin to resign, after the Umno supreme council decided to retract support for the prime minister.
“In the context of information dissemination, the media does not only play a role reporting authentic and accurate news, but also protecting the people from fake news which could potentially undermine our efforts in combating Covid-19 as well preserving the wellbeing and stability of the country.
“The media also gave cooperation to the government in combating fake news since the beginning of this crisis,” Saifuddin said, adding that he was confident that society is mature enough to make their own assessment on fake news. - Mkini
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