FACT-CHECKING portal sebenarnya.my will soon be made into a smartphone app, said Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) advocacy and outreach senior director Eneng Faridah Iskandar.

The portal allows Malaysians to check on the authenticity of news before disseminating it. Spreading of false, inaccurate or wrong information could potentially cause anger, panic and unrest.

To allow for wider reach and access, MCMC is also planning on making sebenarnya.my available on social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, said Eneng Faridah.

Two new categories, “alert” and “explanation”, are also being added to the portal.

“At the moment we only have ‘palsu’ (false) and the new categories will help us enhance the verification provided,” she told Bernama when met at the launch of the Sebenarnya.my Carnival at SK Guar Perahu in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, recently. 

“Alert” is a reminder to the public to be wary of all forms of viral information and “explanation” is the clarification by related agencies on the issues at hand.

She encouraged the public to subscribe to the information verification portal so that they could receive email alerts on the latest information and updates on sebenarnya.my. 

Engaging the public

 The one-day carnival, held for the first time on December 2, was aimed at educating the public on the repercussions of spreading unverified news.

It also taught them how to use sebenarnya.my to authenticate viral news and to submit queries on unverified information.

Eneng Faridah said the portal has sometimes even managed to authenticate information before it became viral on blogs, social media or websites.

Sebenarnya.my was launched 11 months ago, and currently has around 19 million hits.

MCMC chief executive officer Dr Mazlan Ismail said the commission’s focus now was on creating programmes that engage the public and educating them on the repercussions of spreading unverified news from suspicious sources.

“It is now time for us to go down to the ground to further enhance the portal’s visibility,” he said when met at the launch.

Mazlan said the spreading of false news was a serious act that could threaten the security and peace of the nation. To combat the problem, MCMC is targeting to organise more of such carnivals in 50 parliamentary areas starting this year. 

Sebenarnya.my 

The portal sebenarnya.my  was launched in March last year as a government effort to curb the spread of false news.

With the tagline “Tidak Pasti, Jangan Kongsi” (do not share if you are unsure), the portal is a one-stop centre for the public to verify news spreading on social media and messaging platforms, blogs and websites.

The portal has currently verified more than 1,500 entries, with clarification from related parties. Those seeking to verify a piece of news can also submit it to the portal.

Every piece of viral news would be referred to the related agencies or ministries for clarification within at least 24 hours.

For more complicated issues requiring investigation, the related parties will be required to give updates on the status of information that is being verified. – Bernama, January 30, 2018.