AYER KEROH: More than 8,410 fake social media accounts exploiting race, religion and royalty (3R) issues have been identified since the Johor state election, Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil revealed.
Speaking during his winding-up speech at the 2026 PKR National Congress on Sunday (Aug 16), Fahmi said hundreds of fake accounts attempting to stir public sentiment were being detected almost daily.
He noted that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is working continuously with platform providers to remove the flagged accounts and prevent the escalation of emotive issues.
“We have found that recently, particularly from the Johor state election until today, there have been too many fake accounts spreading fake news, false information and similar content,” he said.
Fahmi explained that many of these accounts operated under a specific modus operandi designed to manipulate public emotion.
Perpetrators created fake profiles using photographs and personal details belonging to real individuals to post sensitive content.
They would then take screenshots of the posts to circulate online before quickly deleting the original uploads.
“When we check, the name is the same, and the photograph may be slightly different, but it is not actually the same person,” Fahmi added.
He stated that authorities will utilise additional technical capabilities to identify and address such deceptive accounts moving forward.
