News from social, online media not trustworthy, says deputy minister

SUNGAI BULOH: Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya wants Malaysians to avoid consuming news from the Internet, claiming they are not trustworthy as they do not go through the same fact-checking process as their mainstream counterparts.
The Deputy Health Minister said unlike the mainstream media, online and social media are not controlled by any gatekeepers, making news published on the Internet unreliable.
“The problem with our youth today is they spend too much time on social media, which are not even controlled,” he said during the closing ceremony of the Sungai Buloh Allied Health Sciences College's orientation week here today.
“The ones that are controlled are only the mainstream media, like newspapers, television and the radio. They check to ensure that the news is factual before posting.
“But who checks on these social media? Nobody. They can write whatever they want.”
Hilmi advised those who consume news from the Internet to avoid sharing them unless its authenticity has been confirmed.
“Slandering is a big sin. When we share false news, and it goes viral, God will never forgive us unless we apologise directly to the victim.
“Imagine almost every day ministers are being slandered. So please, don’t involve yourselves in these slandering. A lot of other things require our attention,” he said.
Hilmi pointed out that unlike many other countries, Malaysians are lucky as they enjoy numerous benefits given by the government, besides being one of the safest countries in the world.
Citing the recent military coup in Thailand, he said youths there could afford to spend months on the street protesting as they had nothing to lose, unlike those in Malaysia.
“But the youths in Malaysia, they can't even stand two hours under the sun, and will ask for drinks and want to sit in air-conditioned places. So don’t compare us with other countries,” he said.