PUTRAJAYA: Starting Oct 1, a special segment called ‘Biar Betul!’ will be introduced and aired on Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) in a bid to counter and curb the spread of fake news and disinformation among the public.
According to Communications Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil, the less-than-a-minute segment will be aired after the Berita KANTA 744 slot on TV1 (7.44pm), on the Berita RTM channel, and will also be repeated on all RTM social media platforms and RTM Radio channels.
"This initiative is a collaboration between the Sebenarnya.my portal under the supervision of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and MyCheck Malaysia under the purview of the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), which are entrusted to combat fake news and disinformation through various media platforms,” he told a press conference here on Wednesday (Sept 27).
Reiterating a recent viral video claiming an increase of between RM10 to RM15 in health clinic charges, Fahmi said that the video had reached 2.8 million views, demonstrating how quickly such false information can poison people's minds.
He said other than the ‘Biar Betul!’ initiative, there were also discussions between the ministry and service providers such as Meta, TikTok and Telegram to ensure that full cooperation is given to law enforcers to curb the spread of such fake news and information.
Members of the public can also channel their reports on false or dubious information via https://aduan.mcmc.gov.my/, or by calling 1800-188-030 or WhatsApp to 016-2206262.- Bernama
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