THE revered Muslim scholar Imam Al-Ghazali, in his writings, defined ignorance as being close to darkness and non-existence.
Discussing the subject of knowledge, he said: “Knowledge is the contrary of ignorance, and ignorance is one of the accompaniments of darkness, and darkness belongs to the sphere of immobility, and immobility is near to non-existence, and what is false and misleading is to be classed with this.”
When I read that passage, the first thought that came to mind was a worldwide phenomenon that, according to some government leaders, as well as intelligence and technology experts, presents a serious risk not only to democracy, but also the future of humanity.
They are talking about fake news, which has became a part of common conversation thanks to United States President Donald Trump’s ongoing battle with US mainstream media.
Fake news is written and published with the intent to mislead. The motive is often to damage an agency, entity or person, and/or gain financially or politically.
It is not the same as satire or parody, which is intended to humour rather than mislead the audience.
Entire websites exist today, worldwide, to deliberately publish hoaxes and propaganda in the guise of real news.
Fake news spreads quickly, fuelled by easy access to online advertisement revenue, increased political polarisation and the popularity of social media.
This affliction, which affects minds and hearts, has already surfaced and raised concerns in countries from Australia to Ukraine, and the authorities are starting to take action.
Beginning in the school year this year, children in Taiwan, for example, studied a new curriculum designed to teach critical reading of propaganda and the evaluation of sources. Called “media literacy”, the course provides training in journalism in the new information society.
Officials from 11 countries met in Helsinki, Finland, in November last year to plan the formation of a centre to combat disinformation cyber-warfare, including the spread of fake news on social media.
The centre is planned to be located in Helsinki and include efforts from 10 countries with participation from Sweden, Germany, Finland and the US.
In Indonesia, where, during their 2014 presidential election, candidate Joko Widodo was targeted by a smear campaign, which falsely claimed he was the child of Indonesian Communist Party members, the government, watchdog groups and religious organisations have since taken steps to block certain websites and create fact-check applications.
The Singapore government plans to introduce legislation to combat fake news next year. A state-run website, Factually, was set up to present the government’s version of news, represent facts and counter falsehoods, especially on issues of public interest, such as the environment, housing and transport.
In Malaysia, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission took action against 3,047 fake accounts on social media platforms identified between January and September this year. Almost 80 per cent of these fake accounts were deleted by social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, for violating the terms and conditions set by the respective providers.
The authorities have also set up a portal, sebenarnya.my, as a one-stop centre to give verification due to the proliferation of false news through social media. The portal receives about two million hits a month.
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, meanwhile, published a checklist to help people recognise fake news. The main points are:
CONSIDER the source (to understand its mission and purpose);
READ beyond the headline (to understand the whole story);
CHECK the authors (to see if they are real and credible);
ASSESS the supporting sources (to ensure they support the claims);
CHECK the date of publication (to see if the story is relevant and up to date);
ASK if it is a joke (to determine if it is meant to be satire);
REVIEW your own biases (to see if they are affecting your judgment); and,
ASK experts (to get confirmation from independent people with knowledge).
Fake news are essentially lies, and there is not a religion or belief system on the planet that condones this sin, for good reason. Lives have been lost, families broken up and empires have fallen on the back of lies.
As we welcome the new year, let’s resolve to not only reject fake news, but also expose the malicious perpetrators and punish them if applicable under existing laws.
Al-Ghazali declares that since existence is better than non-existence, “then knowledge is more excellent than ignorance, for ignorance is like blindness and darkness, and knowledge is like sight and light”.
May we all increase in knowledge and be protected from ignorance. Happy New Year!
The writer studied journalism at University of Toledo, Ohio. He has been with the NSTP group for more than two decades, the majority of them at Business Times. He has a wide range of interests in movies and music, plays golf and the drums
