KUALA LUMPUR: The man who claimed to be a pathologist who was involved in the post-mortem examination of Zara Qairina Mahathir has a history of conducting scams, says Datuk Fahmi Fadzil (pic).
The Communications Minister said there some people blindly believe whatever they see on social media.
"Some fall victim to deepfake scams, some believe there is a cable car in Gerik, some believe that Zara died in a washing machine.
"There was even a so-called 'pathologist' on TikTok but when we checked with the Health Ministry, there was no such person (registered with them).
"He in fact had a history of scams," said Fahmi when winding up the 13th Malaysian Plan (13MP) in Parliament on Wednesday (Aug 20)..
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had recorded a statement from the person who falsely claimed to have conducted Zara's autopsy.
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According to the MCMC on Aug 19, the individual was at the Dang Wangi police headquarters to have his statement recorded.
The police said a 51-year-old man was arrested after posting a TikTok video alleging that Zara Qairina's death was a planned murder.
Fahmi echoed concerns by the Sabah Journalists Association (SJA) that recently criticised the actions of several social media influencers who were blending in with mainstream journalists were covering court cases involving the late Zara Qairina.
He said it was concerning that these parties were disregarding journalistic integrity for profit.
Fahmi said Malaysians should be aware that social media influencers do not necessarily provide verified information and the people should always obtain their information from the mainstream media.
Fahmi said he instructed the Information Department, Bernama and RTM to raise awareness among the public to understand that not everything on social media is verified.
The SJA on Aug 19 had said social media influencers had undermined journalists covering the Zara Qairina court case by monetising livestreams.
