{"id":27205,"date":"2020-03-10T02:56:09","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T02:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/new-wp\/?p=27205"},"modified":"2020-03-10T02:56:09","modified_gmt":"2020-03-10T02:56:09","slug":"novel-2019-coronavirus-online-misinformation-and-fake-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/novel-2019-coronavirus-online-misinformation-and-fake-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Novel 2019 Coronavirus: Online misinformation and fake news"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad was recently reported to have said that we were not only facing the (Novel 2019 Coronavirus) \u201cvirus\u201d, but also the \u201cviral\u201d of fake news and information. The statement was issued following a viral message that claimed a prisoner had died from the coronavirus after eating a mandarin orange. Not only has the coronavirus spread like wildfire, so too has misinformation about it especially online. The fake news and misinformation of the virus come in various forms: numerous conspiracy theories; dubious health advice as well as unofficial figures of death and infected people. For example, one of the \u201cunproven\u201d tips allegedly from the Department of Health in the Philippines, which it later confirmed not true, claimed could prevent the disease was shared over 16,000 times on Facebook. Such is the imperfection of the so-called \u201cinformation\u201d that now travels as fast as the speed of light, but unfortunately lacks credibility and requires serious verification of its truth and authenticity from the propagators. In ascertaining and verifying information, Islam, being the complete way of life, is very particular\u2014if not the most stringent ethical principles of all, even more so than any man-made laws\u2014in demanding that every information received must first be checked and verified of its authenticity as stipulated in the Qur\u2019an, Chapter 49 (al-Hujurat<\/em>) verse 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0 The general ethical principle of Islam encapsulated in the well-known maxim of harmonious societal living objective is: \u201cThe fulfilment of something good and avoidance of something harmful\u201d (jalb al-maslahah wa daf\u2019u al-mafsadah<\/em>). At times, in order to attain the objective, any foreseen possible avenues that might bring to surface any evil or harm is blocked at the outset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar to cases of bribery, Islam not only prohibits outright bribery, but also to the extent of merely accepting or giving \u201cgifts\u201d to someone who holds position of authority with the intention that it would be reciprocated is still not allowed. Bribery, legally speaking in this country, can come in many disguised forms such as \u201cgifts\u201d, \u201centertainment privileges\u201d, \u201csports facilities fees waiver\u201d, \u201coffset monies\u201d and so on as stipulated in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0 Unfortunately, Muslims are among the highest number of people convicted for either giving or taking bribes in the country. Likewise, in the context of socialising between the different sexes, Islam not only prohibits adultery but even prohibits close proximity between a male and a female without the presence of a third party. This is called the principle of \u201cSadd Dhara\u2019i<\/em>\u201d which means to close off the means that can lead to evil. Yet again, Malay Muslims are among the highest number of those who dump their babies in the country, as a result of adultery and unwanted pregnancies. Similarly, in spreading fake news, lies and false information, or gossips, rumour-mongering, we are ahead of other races or nations, particularly our netizens. Even the Malay terms or slang words have evolved from time to time to give afresh and so-called \u201cpositive\u201d outlook of gossiping, from \u201cmesyuarat tingkap<\/em>\u201d to \u201cmembawang<\/em>\u201d and so on. \u00a0Nevertheless, they all carry the same spirit and refer to the same activity. Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, a scholar from Zaytuna College, USA once said that: \u201c\u2026during those days, you need look for a partner to gossip or slander, but now with the advent of the internet and social media platforms, you can easily do it alone from your own room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0 Indeed, Islam not only prohibits the spreading of fake news, slanders, lies, or false information, but even gossips are not allowed. In regards to talking, Islam praises those who talk less and only do so out of necessity. A Prophetic tradition from Abu Hurayrah states, \u201cGod\u2019s Messenger, may the Mercy and Blessings of God be upon him, said:\u00a0\u2018Whoever believes in God and the Last Day should speak a good word or remain silent.\u00a0 And whoever believes in God and the Last Day should show hospitality to his neighbour.\u00a0And whoever believes in God and the Last Day should show hospitality to his guest.\u2019\u201d (Bukhari & Muslim). In another narration also from Abu Hurayrah, the Prophet warned not to simply narrate (or in the current social media context is equivalent to \u201cforward\u201d or \u201cshare\u201d) whatever one hears without first verifying its truth and validity. He said: \u201cIt is enough for a man to prove himself a liar when he goes on narrating whatever he hears\u201d (Muslim).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0 In conclusion, Islam prohibits any creation or dissemination of false or fake news or information. Any information must first be checked and verified before sharing it with others. The repercussions of forwarding fake news might not be necessarily felt in this world alone\u2014be caught by the relevant authority and subsequently charged for spreading it\u2014but also in the Hereafter, be put in the Hellfire.\u00a0 Indeed, Muslims then should always have in their mind the consequences of their \u201cworldly\u201d acts in the Hereafter before acting on anything in this temporal world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad was recently reported to have said that we were not only facing the (Novel 2019 Coronavirus) \u201cvirus\u201d, but also the \u201cviral\u201d of fake news and information. The statement was issued following a viral message …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"_wpzoom_pinterest_image_url":"","_wpzoom_pinterest_hidden_image":"0","_wpzoom_pinterest_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[225],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","category-225","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27205\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}