SHAH ALAM, April 25 — DAP has requested Meta to shut down a fake account of the Unity Government’s candidate for the Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) by-election, Pang Sock Tao, which was allegedly created by certain parties.
DAP National Publicity secretary Teo Nie Ching believes there will be more fake accounts impersonating party candidates or leaders and spreading disinformation and hate speech during the upcoming by-election.
“Pang’s candidature was announced last night. Today, someone has used her photos to create a fake account on Facebook.
“For the information of all Malaysians, Pang’s official page is https://www.facebook.com/XiaoTaoUbahTV, which was created since February 2018, and she has 33,000 followers on her official page,” Teo posted on Facebook.
Teo, who is also the communication deputy minister, said with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), generating content has become easy.
“Be an informed netizen. Check your facts from reliable sources. Don’t be influenced by this misinformation easily.
“I also want to urge those not aligned with us to compete in a healthy way. Engage, not enrage; debate not hate,” she said.
Yesterday, Pang, who is Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming’s press secretary, was announced as the Unity Government’s candidate for the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election.
The Election Commission (EC) has fixed the polling date for the by-election in Selangor on May 11, with nomination to be held this Saturday and early voting on May 7.
The by-election, the seventh since the 15th General Election, is being called after the state seat fell vacant following the death of its incumbent, Lee Kee Hiong, 58, who died due to cancer on March 21.
— Bernama
