Failure to understand the difference between satire and fake news.
Satire site Tapir Times yesterday poked fun at a former top cop whose gaffe over an article by US satirical paper The Onion earned him ridicule online, continuing the line of parody begun in the original report.
It said former inspector-general Musa Hassan had been “cleared of all suspected involvement in ongoing CIA cases” after he shared the article titled ‘CIA Issues Posthumous Apology After New Evidence Clears Osama Bin Laden Of Involvement In 9/11 Attacks’.
“‘Once it was revealed the former Malaysian police chief didn’t know all you need is a pulse and a website to produce silly online news, he was no longer considered a potential mastermind behind any ongoing CIA and FBI investigations,’ CIA sources confirmed,” it added.
“‘In a separate statement, US President Donald Trump said Mr Hassan is welcome at the White House any time to join him for cheeseburgers.’”
Musa initially posted an “article” titled ‘CIA Issues Posthumous Apology After New Evidence Clears Osama Bin Laden Of Involvement In 9/11 Attacks’ from The Onion.
Despite Twitter users pointing out that The Onion was a satirical publication, Musa insisted that the US government must make a statement on the article.
“Wait for The Onion to deny it. If not, it means that America allows the spreading of fake news,” he said on Twitter.
“No wonder the world is so chaotic because they allow fake news. It’s very easy to know if something is true or not.
“The agency can come out, make a statement, deny. If not, the agency’s integrity could be questioned,” said Musa.
DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, in a statement today, said it was clear that Musa did not understand the meaning of satire.
He added that Musa, who lectures at UiTM’s Centre of Media and Information Warfare Studies, had made Malaysia “the butt of jokes on Twitter”.
“This does not speak well for the calibre and quality of Malaysia’s top public officers or university education,” he said.
“UiTM’s Centre of Media and Information Warfare Studies should be one of the media schools and agencies which should play a leading role to promote national media literacy, from kindergarten level to universities as is happening in Finland and other countries concerned about the danger of fake news.
“But how can they play such a role when they are ignorant about the character of Onion.com or The Tapir Times?”