Inside Sarawak

Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Jailani Johari has called on the media to step up efforts in addressing fake news in the social media.

“In light of the copious amount of unverified, false and prejudiced commentaries coming from social media and partisan reporting, the (traditional) media are called upon to moderate, mediate and ameliorate,” he said.

Speaking at the plenary session of the CEO Roundtable of the Asia Media Summit 2017 in Qingdao, China, the deputy minister said in recent times the media had played a role in helping to distinguish Islam from terrorism, however, much more had to be done aside from combating negative stereotyping and labelling.

The event is organised by the Asia Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development. His speech text was made available to Bernama here today.

Jailani said technology had also now made it easier for extremists to produce propaganda and to attract new recruits while they also sent videos on their attacks.

“The media’s role in this battle would be to deny these parties what they most desire and to deprive them of what some call the ‘oxygen of publicity’,” he said.

The media, he said, could also collaborate with stakeholders to quickly identify fake news.

“The media are enablers which provide a voice for those who may not have had the chance to be heard and they can assist other stakeholders to help create awareness, to educate and facilitate engagement as well as moderate dialogues.

“All these efforts can be doubled and tripled with the reach of media that enables the education and engagement efforts to travel, to extend to the furthest reaches of a nation.

“For example, in Malaysia, some of the TN50 (National Transformation 2050) dialogue sessions with segments of society and televised by the media have proven to be extremely successful in engaging with the people,” he added.

The deputy minister also said that Malaysia’s commitment to the United Nations 2030 Development Agenda was reflected, among others, in the 11th Malaysia Plan and National Transformation Plan.

“The idea is to enrich lives and create an inclusive and environmentally-sustainable nation with an advanced economy by 2020, and the plans mirror the multi-dimensional nature of sustainable development goals,” he said. – Bernama

Source: Borneo Post

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