In Carlo Collodi's classic children's novel, “The Adventures of Pinocchio”, the protagonist's nose grew longer whenever he lied.
In a cartoon published in Thailand's English newspaper The Nationtoday, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak appears to have outdone Geppetto's wooden puppet.
The cartoonist, who calls himself Stephff, drew Najib with a fully grown tree for a nose with multiple branches.
Three of these branches represented “corruption” while the other two featured the words “Scorpene submarine scandal” and “1MDB” respectively.
Clad in the traditional Baju Melayu attire, Najib is seen swinging an axe at “press freedom” and Malaysian cartoonist Zunar, whose real name is Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque.
The cartoon's title reads “Malaysia's government introduces anti-fake news bill.”
Putrajaya had tabled the bill in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday, which critics claim would further stifle press freedom and freedom of speech.
The opposition, on the other hand, has accused the government of being the biggest purveyor of fake news.
Among others, the bill proposed a hefty penalty - up to RM500,000 fine or 10 years' jail, or both - for those found guilty of spreading "fake news".
The bill defined "fake news" as "any news, information, data, and reports, which is or are wholly or partly false, whether in the form of features, visuals or audio recordings or in any other form capable of suggesting words or ideas".
The same hefty penalties also applied to those who provide financial assistance or abet the production of "fake news". -Mkini
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