By Mass Communication Department, FBC, IIU
“Prosecuting those citizens who share information on social media to be safe and do not verify the information shared, is not an effective way to tackle fake news, as what it needs to be done is educate all citizens to understand the consequences of misinformation”, said Harris Zainul, Senior Analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, during his Guest Speakers Series organised by the Mass Communication Department at the Faculty of Business and Communication of INTI International University, last February.
During his presentation, Harris exposed the need to clarify that fake news are in realty classified in three categories: misinformation, disinformation and malinformation. While the first one is not intended to cause any harm, the last two are disseminated with the sole intention to create problems among society due to the ill origin of the information.
With vast experience in dealing with media at different levels, Mr. Zainul encouraged students to always adhere to the principles of ethics and fair reporting when distributing information, especially over social media, in an effort to, first, avoid any potential trouble with any authority, and, second, to enhance the understanding among members of the society.