Don’t fuel the fake news fire.
Stop creating and spreading fake news. The public needs to be wary and careful of misinformation.
Popular messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, or Line have led to the rapid use of Electronic Word of Mouth. It is so easy to spread viral news, videos and audio these days.
However, individuals need to resist the urge to spread unverified news. At times there is always an urge to be the first or even among the fastest to share sensationalized news.
Fake news are often presented in a very credible way by bearing logos and headings that are similar to credible sources, only to mislead the recipient or reader.
It is regrettable that these selfish creators of fake news only want to create panic, unrest and damage.
So please always cross-check the information you have with credible sources such as the sebenarnya.my portal by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
Mainstream media outlets are also one way to verify facts. Simply because of credibility.
This is regardless if it’s print, online or broadcast. These members of the journalism fraternity share a common responsibility to report facts as facts.
The nation is already facing an uphill battle with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic and creators of fake news are thriving on times like these. Do not let them get the better of us.
Please, I would like to humbly remind everyone to not be gullible in believing everything that you receive on social networking platforms or groups in your messenger applications.
Do some fact-checking before sharing and if indeed it is fake, delete it immediately, and notify the sender too.
It is the very least you can do as part of your civic duty.
Yeap Ming Liong
