As we raise our flutes to a new year we cannot help but glance over our shoulders at the year that was so tough. Killings, celebrity deaths, airplane crashes, evacuations, executions. There was also a Brexit, Trump. Amongst many different types of news that brought sadness, shock, one type of news that became popular on social media was ‘The Fake News’. Again thanks to Trump and his controversial political win. A Washington post article headlined – Facebook fake-news writer: ‘I think Donald Trump is in the white house because of me’.
Malaysia too had its own share of Fake news. Some were serious, some were satirical but none were true. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to put a wrong foot into the 2017 door. My only wish is to bury these fake news that seems to have viraled out of proportion and misguided us to a great extent.
Here are some of those Fake events that spread on social media throughout 2016. Only later found to be completely baseless;
1. Did 2 tigers maul a man in Sunway Lagoon?
False: The viral video shared on WhatsApp, showed tigers mauling a 32 -year- old Malaysian zoo cleaner. The reality was that this event didn’t take place in Malaysia at all. It was a footage from Singapore Zoo in 2008
2. Was there a mishap involving a snapped cable of a Genting Skyway cable car?
False: Pahang Civil Defence Force verified the matter with the management of the Genting Highlands and was informed that the cable car was functioning well.
3. Did a poisonous perfume sample cause the death of seven women upon inhalation and exposure in Gleneagles Hospital Kuala Lumpur?
False: It was a hoax, and apparently it gets resurfaced every year
4. Letter from Lin Dan to Chong Wei
False: The touching letter supposedly from Chong Wei’s longtime rival Lin Dan turned out to be an act of fiction.
Like this, we can go on and on, but one thing is clear that Facebook and Whatsapp is one of the biggest media outlets in the world and in Malaysia today. Everything that will be read or consumed there will create a lot of talk-ability. According to Facebook monitoring tool, Top 20 Fake news stories collectively got more engagements than the Top 20 factual accurate stories.
Are people getting dumber and dumber? Are they rushing in to post things without any proof checking? Can people not make a difference between real news and fake news?
True – Malaysians cannot tell the difference between real and fake news, shared on social media. MCMC held media literacy classes for about 900,000 people this year showing them examples of fake news involving MH370, celebrity news.
Are brands directly / indirectly part of this circus?
True -Some brands even got inspired with the ‘Fake News’ concept. Netflix created its own versions of Fake New Year event countdowns, so parents could put their kids to bed early and enjoy adult’s only party. Other brands bought ad spaces on those fake sites to create awareness. We as brand owners, brand lovers (ourselves) need to become self-aware, self-vigilant. Yes in today’s world content is the king. But the burning question is…what type of content you want to make? What type of content you like to share?
It’s the same sun that will rise in 2017, but let us promise ourselves that before rushing into sharing anything on social media, we will try and be mindful. We will think about all the repercussions of Fake posts that get shared. Let’s start 2017 with truth, and not get labeled as a fake news reporter.
Happy Newyear!