KOTA KINABALU: The government has discovered a coordinated effort to spread fake and inauthentic information meant to cause public unease via social media platforms in the country, and is trying hard to put an end to it.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said it is clear that there is a group of people involved in a coordinated inauthentic behaviour (CIB) to cause unease among the public from time to time.
He said the latest is the case involving a derogatory message mocking Islam printed on a Domino's Pizza receipt.
He said at least 15 different social media accounts were found circulating the image with the same graphics and spelling errors.
"Prior to that, during Ramadan, there was a message going around saying that there will not be any Tilawah al-Quran this year, which was fake as well,” said Fahmi, adding that a total of 33 individuals have been identified as suspects in this matter.
Fahmi said the ministry has asked the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to identify those behind the accounts and to work with the police to haul them up to have their statements recorded.
He said it is also up to the Attorney General to decide whether to charge these suspects, whereas the duty of the ministry and MCMC is to put a stop to this matter immediately.
Asked about the identity of these people and what their motives were, Fahmi said he was not at liberty to disclose.
On questions about whether politicians were part of the CIB, he said authorities were still trying to get the details.
He said this to reporters after launching the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day here on Friday (May 17).
Earlier, Fahmi said while the government tries to push for faster and wider Internet connectivity, it is also vital that the Internet brings about a safe environment for users, including children.
He said false and recycled information spreads faster than a 5G connection, and efforts must be doubled to curb this trend.
Taking a recent example, he said there were recycled concerns that the MCMC was tapping and recording chats on WhatsApp, which was untrue.
Fahmi said he is looking at holding a national campaign on online safety for children and families sometime this August to address these issues as well as scams and online gambling, among many other things.
