Get real, please

> Social media has opened the floodgates to a lot of news, where some are not only fake but also malicious in nature

a report to reflect the gravity of the situation is no fun when you have to explain to the bewildered ‘mata-mata’ (policeman) on duty that the news is not correct and yet your organisation seems to have distributed it.

And in all probability, the cops will be laughing up their sleeves while taking down your report! That’s the most painful part. You had hopes that they would go out with their guns blazing to catch the culprit.

More often than not, it’s just a report to be filed away, because as far as the duty officer is concerned, this is not a life-threatening matter involving someone very important, or even a politician.

Certainly not about a ‘fake’ report of a month’s bonus, which if true, they also benefit.

But imagine the chaos if such a fake news had come out during the actual Budget Day.

Of late, I’ve been hearing that some universities have developed certain computer applications that could take a sample of a person’s voice and make the person appear in a video clip speaking in his own voice and uttering words that are actually being typed into the computer by another person.

Now, that’s really scary!

Jeff Yong, after making his mark in the twisty maze of mainstream journalism, has finally decided to enjoy what he does best – observing the unusual and recounting the gleeful. He can be contacted at lifestyle. borak@gmail.com.