Kuala lumpur: The role of media practitioners, particularly journalists, is becoming increasingly important in curbing the spread of fake news, which is becoming more prevalent, especially through social media, said Deputy Minister of Communications Teo Nie Ching. She emphasized that trained journalists understand their responsibilities as Malaysian citizens to verify the authenticity of any news, thus ensuring the public can differentiate between fake and real news.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, as of August 1, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had requested 16,110 fake news content be taken down, a significant increase compared to 5,367 cases in 2023 and 17,245 cases in 2024. Teo highlighted that scammers are becoming adept at using artificial intelligence to generate fake videos and voices to deceive victims, as she addressed attendees at the launch of the 2025 Malaysian Tamil Media Organisation Annual General Meeting.

Teo noted that the public is often misled by unverified information shared across social media platforms, which can lead to widespread acceptance as truth. She referenced the case of Zara Qairina Mahathir, a Form One student whose death sparked viral but false accusations, including the claim that she had been placed in a washing machine for two hours-a story debunked by police.

Zara Qairina was confirmed dead at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on July 17, after being found unconscious in a drain near the SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha dormitory.

Furthermore, Teo mentioned that the MADANI Government is continuing its efforts to combat fake news by implementing initiatives such as the Artificial Intelligence Fact-check Assistance (AIFA) chatbox by MCMC. This tool, which analyzes messages in multiple languages, has proven effective, having received 142,257 messages by July 31, averaging 769 fact-checks a day.