KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 — The dangers of “fake news” to society may still be debatable, but for the business community, the menace is one that is costing real financial harm, sometimes to the tune of hundreds of thousands of ringgit.
In the age of social media, the adage that “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes” has never been truer.
While so-called “fake news” is not a new phenomenon — rumours and hoaxes have long existed — the advent of technology such as social media has magnified its dangers.
The harm that “fake news” can cause has been repeatedly demonstrated in Malaysia; most recently, McDonald’s had to fend off a boycott based on claims that it funded Zionist Jews.
One major victim of “fake news” was also shoemaker Bata Malaysia, who last year suffered estimated losses of RM700,000 after a teacher claimed the tread pattern on one of its shoe models resembled the word “Allah”.
Recalling the incident, Bata Malaysia senior manager Datuk James Selvaraj said the episode clearly demonstrated that fake news could cause serious and irreparable harm in the real world.
“It went down very fast, within three days it was already damaging for us. We had to recall about a million shoes from 236 Bata stores nationwide, and we even had to design a new mould for the shoe model as it was our best-seller. That alone was an additional RM200,000.
“We lost in terms of sales, and a lot of our time was taken up to recall back the shoes and redesigning a new mould,” he said when contacted.
James also said the government should find means to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Putrajaya already recognises the dangers of fake news, and said it was considering introducing legislation specifically to address the matter, in addition to existing laws that may already apply.
The government also introduced last May the Sebenarnya.my portal for the public to verify viral news and incidents.
“When you come across unverified news, before you send it out, find out the truth first, because the outcome would be ugly for others,” James added.
SME Association president Datuk Michael Kang welcomed the government’s move to consider laws against fake and unverified news, saying this would help mitigate the needless fear and anxiety caused to society and businesses.
Citing the McDonald’s incident, Kang said such hoaxes would result in people boycotting businesses over a falsehood.
While the fast-food chain that is now a Saudi concern went to great lengths to deny links to Zionist Israel, some still believed the allegations.
“For the public and businesses, the moment they read fake news and are not able to verify it, they would start to worry and act on it, which in return would affect the economy as well.
“Such hoaxes may also impact foreign investors who would refrain from investing in the country simply from circulation of unverified news.
“The government should put a stop to this and penalise those who had created or passed fake news around. There should be a law for this,” he told Malay Mail.
Hanafee Yusoff, formerly the Malay Chamber of Commerce's secretary-general said in the case of trade, false news about the economy could also hurt business confidence.
Among claims made about the country’s economy were those regarding the ringgit’s movement or that the government was “bankrupt”.
“If you run a business that requires you to convert the currency, and you based it on the wrong information, then this would have an impact on your business and would result you to misquote the cost of your product. This is one of the many ways fake news can mess with businesses.
“When information technology is so easily accessible, such information comes to you uninvited and this ends up making the people confused and doubtful,” he told Malay Mail when contacted.
Malay Economic Action Council chief executive officer Ahmad Yazid Othman said efforts to clamp down fake news were laudable, but enforcement would be equally vital.
However, he also expressed concern that such laws may be too broad, and leave media outlets unfairly exposed.
“If the law is not detailed enough, it may end up penalising the innocent, or certain company may find their way around it and create some competition and use it as a tool to outdo one another,” he told Malay Mail.
“As much as it needs to be contained, the plan to manage fake news is going to be a challenge. Yet, the impact of hoaxes can be detrimental and affect people’s rice bowl, even by one single unverified news.”
* A previous version of the report erroneously identified Hanafee Yusoff as the current secretary-general of the Malay Chamber of Commerce, when he has in fact left the position. The report has been amended to reflect this.
