MCMC investigates 67 fake news on social media

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) investigated 67 cases of fake news in social media between January 2016 and Sept this year.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak said of the number, five were brought to court.
"In the same period, access to 1,861 websites, portals and blogs were also restricted for circulating misleading content, information and news that could potentially cause confusion and disharmony among the people of various races and religions in the country," he said.
He said this during the question and answer session at Dewan Rakyat today, in reply to Datuk Shabudin Yahaya (BN-Tasek Gelugor) who had asked about the ministry's proactive action to ensure that news reports carried by news portals did not threaten public order and racial sensitivities in the country.
Salleh said the ministry was working with various parties in carrying out advocacy programmes to create awareness to the general public including launching the portal, Sebenarnya.my., on the importance of verifying facts before circulating any news or information.
"Since its launch, Sebenarnya.my which uses the tagline 'Tidak Pasti Jangan Kongsi' has received 12.75 million hits. We hope the public would view the information in the portal before sharing any news or information," he said. — Bernama