Several students interviewed by FMT said Facebook was their top news source, even though they admitted to being aware that not everything found there was genuine news.
They also said many of their peers could not differentiate between real and fake news.
Their comments appeared to agree with the findings of a study conducted by Monash University and Universiti Malaya (UM) lecturers. According to the study, Facebook is the most popular social media platform from which students get news and through which they share them.
UM student Nor Ezwainnis Azmi told FMT she depended on Facebook for news because it was convenient to do so.
“Most students, including myself, prefer to use Facebook when it comes to news and what’s currently happening in the country because it is rather handy compared to other sources,” she said. “Since most of us are using gadgets, it is much easier to check what’s new on Facebook than having to buy newspapers or wait for breaking news on television.”
She said she was aware of the importance of verifying the truth of news items posted on Facebook before sharing them with others.
Zuhaira Ahmad Fuad, another UM student, had a similar comment. She said any news shared on social media, especially Facebook, needed to be verified by credible news agencies. She added that there was a high probability of Facebook users sharing fake news.
Shalinni Kunasagran, a student of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), acknowledged that she was an active Facebook user. She said she would always read news appearing on her Facebook timeline, including items from online news portals.
“As a student, I think it is important to keep myself updated, and what’s faster than using social media?” she said.
“Most of the time the picture and information can be edited and written according to the interest of readers, and this can mislead people. So it is up to readers to be wise.”
Another UTAR student, Cheah Li Yi, agreed that using Facebook is a quick way of staying informed.
“When you are on social media, you are provided with more options of choosing what you want to read rather than having to read things that you are not interested in,” she said.
Shalinni and Cheah agreed that fake news could spread like wildfire through social media.
“People misuse Facebook to create fake news and spread it because there is no one to verify the validity or credibility of the news source,” Cheah said.
Because of this, some students said they preferred to bypass Facebook and go directly to credible news sites.
“I only read news from The Star Online and not on Facebook,” said Paalamurugan Sankar, who studies at Inti International University.
He said he wished Facebook would not allow users to post any news item unless it was from a registered media organisation.
Mitrainy Maniam, a student at UniKL Royal College of Medicine in Perak, admitted that she sometimes would share news items without verifying their authenticity, especially when pressed for time.
However, she agreed that people should stop sharing news they were unsure of.
According to a Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) report last December, many people still cannot differentiate between real and fake news.
“According to the 2016 Reuters Institute Digital News Report, 69% of Malaysians get their news from social media, which is worrying, because Malaysians are more susceptible to misinformation,” said Eneng Faridah Iskandar, a senior MCMC official.
To address the issue, MCMC held media literacy classes for about 900,000 people in 2016, giving them examples of fake stories involving the MH370 tragedy, the US presidential election and the goings on in the lives of celebrities. Many people could not tell the difference between genuine and fake news.
MCMC also launched a website, Sebenarnya.my, in March to enable people to check the validity of news shared through social media.
Ivy Chong contributed to this article.