Reining in fake news to safeguard nation’s harmony
KUALA SELANGOR: Of late there has been a growing chorus of support worldwide for the enactment of special legislation to check the propagation of fake news.
On Jan 1, Germany started enforcing a law that requires social media sites to remove within 24 hours any offensive or fake content that could arouse hatred. Sites that do not remove such posts could face fines of up to 50 million euro (RM241. 9 million).
The governments of countries like Britain, France and Singapore are currently considering drafting and enforcing similar legislation.
What is certain is that the circulation of hateful content on the Internet has become a matter of concern all over the world, leading to the ongoing debate on the need to draft laws to curtail the posting of fake news.
In the meantime, the authorities are constantly monitoring the situation and organising awareness campaigns to get the public to be wary of fake news. In view of Malaysia’s current political climate, which is heating up due to the impending general election, various groups have called for the implementation of laws to check the propagation of fake news.
Among the proposals put forward are requests to amend the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and provide for the setting up of a special unit to monitor fake content, as well as use provisions under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 to nab those who spread fake news.
In fact, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had on Jan 28 said that the government would look into introducing legislation to curb fake news which is a threat to political stability and public order.
Najib’s proposal has drawn the support of politicians from both sides of the political divide. Among the Cabinet ministers who have voiced their support are Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak and Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
PAS vice president Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah and DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang have also spoken in support of the Prime Minister’s proposal.
On Feb 7, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said confirmed that the government would meet various stakeholders to discuss the drafting of the legislation concerned, which was expected to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat in March. Many people may not be aware that the simple act of posting a message on a mobile chat application can start a chain reaction that can cause chaos in the nation and endanger their lives.
The offending message, more often than not, carries sensational information, with the writer quoting “concrete facts” to convince the readers who, in turn, feel compelled to forward it to their friends. There are certain quarters who deliberately feed false news or biased news to the public to fulfil their own twisted ambition of creating upheaval and disunity among the people. At a forum, titled “Bicara Perdana: Berita Palsu Musuh Negara” (Prime Talk: Fake News, Nation’s Enemy) that was held at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sungai Besar, Selangor on Jan 26, Universiti Teknologi Mara Faculty of Communications and Media Studies lecturer Anuar Ali said the act of spreading false news was not a new one as it had existed since long ago.
Before the advent of information communications technology, fake news used to be peddled “manually” from house-to-house. Today, it is done via smartphone applications like WhatsApp, Telegram and WeChat. The forum was organised by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in conjunction with its sebenarnya.my tour series, which is part of the commission’s activities to prevent the spreading of false news.