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Kota Kinabalu: The top five most common fake news topics that have been addressed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) through sebenarnya.my are those that have to do with governance, crime, health, consumerism and security.

In answer to queries from the Daily Express, MCMC said that fake news pertaining to governance leads the list with a total of 37 per cent.

The portal is designed to encourage the culture of critical thinking and shared responsibility.

Examples of issues relating to fake news or clarification made by the government agencies under the governance category include but were not limited to; programmes/benefits by Ministries/Agencies (MyBSH, BPN 2.), leak of government documents and impersonation of Minister/Ministries/Agencies (creation of social media accounts using official ministries/agencies logo). Coming second on the list, MCMC said are issues related to crime and health, with each recording 14 per cent, respectively. 

Sebenarnya.my portal launched in March 2017 can also be access through its presence on Facebook, Twitter adn Telegram.

Some of the examples of crime-related fake news include scam/fraudulent activities, abduction/kidnapping and human organ trafficking. While for health, the examples includes pandemic issues (Covid-19, H1N1, SARS), and allegation of positive Covid-19 cases in certain areas. Next on the top five list are issues related to consumerism which recorded a total of 13 per cent. Some examples of these includes halal issues, food contamination, unregistered products, and cosmetics without notification.

Issues involving impersonation of agencies using official Ministries/Agencies logo/name among top five more prevalent fake news that have been addressed by sebenar.my portal

Also on the top five list, MCMC said is security at nine per cent. Some examples include issues related to entry of illegal immigrants through national borders and the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO). It noted, however, that the statistics may not cover the overall spectrum, as the sebenarnya.my portal focuses on local news topics/issues that affect public or national interests, in which the authenticity of the information have been verified by the respective ministries or agencies (based on their role, jurisdiction and subject matter expertise).

To a question, MCMC said the sebenarnya.my portal was launched in March 2017.

In addition to the portal, the public can also access the portal through its presence on Facebook, Twitter and Telegram. The portal, according to MCMC, has recorded over 302 million hits since its inception, with an average of 4.7 million hits a month.

The portal has also received 15,400 tip-offs from the public on suspicious information or news articles that have not been verified. The MCMC said this proves that the public is now more sensitive and aware of the risk of fake news. The portal was designed to encourage the culture of critical thinking and shared responsibility. It also provides a single reference point for the public to verify news that have socio-economic impact and security of the country. 

The sebenarnya.my portal has recorded over 302 million hits since its inception in 2017.

In this respect, the public empowerment is critical success factor, where the public could participate in the process by sharing any suspicious or unverified information through “Salurkan Kepada Kami (Channel to Us)” section in the portal (https://sebenarnya.my/salur/). “The dedicated team will then refer the unverified information to the respective ministries and agencies to verify its accuracy, and for them to provide the appropriate response should the information are determined to be incorrect or false.

Consumerism issues are among top five more prevalent fake news that have been addressed by sebenar.my portal.

“In addition to the above, through a joint collaborative initiative, the Ministries or Agencies take proactive role in detecting and monitoring the spread of false or incorrect information involving matters within their scope and functions.

“They will issue official statements explaining or refuting any false or incorrect information involving their respective Ministries and Agencies,” MCMC said.