Check authenticity of news before sharing on social media – Hamisa
TAWAU: Assistant Resources and Information Technology Development Minister Datuk Hamisa Samat said although the social media has its benefits and has become an effective tool for sharing information, it has also been misused to disseminate slander and misinformation.
She said the development of social media lately had a less healthy effect on national unity.
Hamisa said users should selfscreen information to counter the spread of rumours or false news. Social media users need to first evaluate the legitimacy of news before sharing with others.
“Check the news first, if the news is suspected to be false, report it to the authorities. Do not continue to spread the news if we do not know the truth. In other words, social media users themselves are the cause of rumours,” she said when officiating the Tawau SINDA-IT Program at Kampung Kalabakan Mini Hall yesterday.
According to Hamisa who is also Tanjong Batu assemblywoman, users were inclined to believe rumours on social media such as Facebook and Twitter because of the emotionally fast-rooting issues.
She also expressed fear about the level of public trust in the country towards social media, especially among the younger generation.
“In the excitement to be a distributor of information, there are users who share information and ignore the legitimacy of the news which turns out to be incorrect news,” she explained.
She said there are many false news shared widely on social media, especially those trying to tarnish the image of government leaders.
Hamisa said the younger generation needs to investigate, review and censor such information and news and not be easily influenced by or trust it wholly.