Sebenarnya.my soon to be on app

BUKIT MERTAJAM: The fact-checking portal sebenarnya.my will soon be available on app, said Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) advocacy and outreach senior director Eneng Faridah Iskandar.
The portal allows Malaysians to check on the authenticity of a news story before they disseminate it. Spreading of false, inaccurate or wrong information could potentially cause anger, panic and unrest.
To allow for wider reach and access, MCMC was also planning on making sebenarnya.my available on social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, said Eneng Faridah.
Two new categories, "alert" and "explanation", are also being added to the portal.
"At the moment we only have 'palsu' (false) and the new categories will help us enhance the verification provided," she told Bernama when met at the launch of the Sebenarnya.my Carnival at Sekolah Kebangsaan Guar Perahu, here, recently.
'Alert' is a reminder to the public to be wary of all forms of viral information and 'explanation' is the clarification by related agencies on the issues at hand.
She encouraged the public to subscribe to the information verification portal so that they could receive e-mail alerts on the latest information and updates on sebenarnya.my.
Engaging the public
The one-day carnival, held for the first time on Dec 2, was aimed at educating the public on the repercussions of spreading the unverified news.
It also taught them how to use sebenarnya.my to authenticate viral news and to submit queries on unverified information.
However, Eneng Faridah said that the portal has sometimes even managed to authenticate a piece of information before it became viral on blogs, social media or websites.
Sebenarnya.my has launched 11 months ago and currently has around 19 million hits.
The CEO of MCMC Datuk Dr Mazlan Ismail said MCMC's focus now was on creating programmes that engage the public and educating them on the repercussions of spreading unverified news from suspicious sources.
"It is now time for us to go down to the ground to further enhance the portal's visibility," he said when met at the launch.
The one-day carnival, held for the first time, also featured a number of interesting events including a fun run, a debate competition, a BMX bicycle riding competition, a car show and a talk by speakers Ustaz Wan Hizam Abdullah Sabil and Ustaz Mohd Ravi Abdullah.
Mazlan said the spreading of false news was a serious act that could threaten the security and peace of the nation. To combat the problem, MCMC is targeting to organize more of such carnivals in 50 parliamentary areas starting this year.

Check before you wreck
Roshita Ibrahim, who attended the carnival, said that such programmes helped raise awareness of the dangers of spreading false news. This was important particularly among those living in the rural areas.
"Sometimes we get confused whether a piece of news is just an opinion, an assumption or a fact because of the barrage of different information on the matter coming from different sources. It is easier when there is a website like sebenarnya.my, that we can go to verify such information," the 36-year-old told Bernama.
Event manager Khairuddin Mohd Shah, meanwhile, hoped that the public would utilise the portal and not simply accept at face value viral information spread over social media and messaging platforms.
The 30-year-old hoped that sebenarnya.my would help Malaysians become more responsible netizens as well as curb the spread of false news.
So before clicking the forward or share button, the right thing to do is get the information verified from sebenarnya.my app.

The portal sebenarnya.my by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was launched in March 2017 as a government effort to curb the spread of false news.
With the tagline "Tidak Pasti, Jangan Kongsi" (do not share if you are unsure), the portal has become a one-stop centre for the public to check on facts and obtain verification on fake viral news spreading across social media and messaging platforms, blogs and websites.
The portal has currently verified more than 1,500 entries with clarification from related parties. Those seeking to verify a piece of news can also submit it to the portal.
Every piece of viral news would be referred to the related agencies or ministries for clarification within at least 24 hours.
For more complicated issues requiring investigation, the related parties will be required to give updates on the status of information that is being verified. — Bernama