KUCHING, May 27 — Journalists and media practitioners have been urged to assist the Communications Ministry to fight the spread of fake news, especially on social media platforms.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said that it was vital for all media practitioners to be cautious and critically assess their reporting, pointing out that the World Economic Forum (WEF) had listed the spread of misinformation and fake news as one of the main global risks in the 2024 Global Risk Report.

"Hawana 2024, with its theme of "Etika Teras Kewartawanan Mapan”, encourages media practitioners to be aware of current technological developments and to apply them to daily assignments.

"A lot of information spread of social media includes fake news. I urge my media friends to help the Communications Ministry especially in combating the spread of misinformation,” he said in his welcoming speech at the highlight of the National Journalists Day (Hawana) 2024 here, which was officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim this afternoon.

Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg, both Sarawak Deputy Premiers, Datuk Ammar Douglas Uggah Embas and Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department (Corporate Affairs, Information and Public Communications Unit) Datuk Abdullah Saidol, also attended the event.

Fahmi stressed that the government will continue its efforts in stopping the spread of fake news on existing platforms, including Sebenarnya.my, managed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), MyCheck Malaysia, run by the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), and the "Biar Betul!” segment aired daily by Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM).

Around 1,000 guests, including local and foreign media practitioners, including representatives from media and journalism clubs and associations from Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Timor Leste, China, South Korea, Qatar, France and Kuwait, have gathered since Saturday to attend Malaysia’s largest annual gathering of journalists.

Hawana 2024 is sponsored by the Communications Ministry with the cooperation of the Sarawak state government, with Bernama as the implementing agency.

May 29 has been gazetted as National Journalists Day in conjunction with the publication of the first edition of Utusan Melayu on May 29, 1939, and the event is aimed at celebrating the contributions of local media practitioners to the country. — Bernama