KUALA LUMPUR: The increase of fake news in online media will create a serious “trust deficit problem”, said Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak.
“We must not spoil the integrity of online media with the proliferation of fake news because this will create a serious problem of trust deficit,” he said.
The Communications and Multimedia Minister said in a report by Bernama that everyone must ensure that the integrity of online media is not killed off due to the actions of a few.
“If not, what can be a very valuable tool would become a stigma because no one would trust what is published online,” he said in his latest blog post.
Salleh added that the Internet has become the swing factor in elections as politics and political campaigns are now more dependent on online and electronic media.
Salleh said political players started using the Internet in 1998 to sway public opinion but it was not until 10 years later that Malaysians realised the impact of the Internet in swinging votes.
The Umno treasurer cited media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, who said that the print media was going to be a thing of the past by 2050.
“The way things are going, that may actually happen far earlier than 2050,” Salleh said, adding that everyone needed to move with the times and become Internet-savvy.
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