‘Be more like Trump’: academic advises Hong Kong government to change tactics in battle against fake news
- Political scientist Chan Wai-keung says US president sets tone for world media with Twitter use
- Hong Kong’s leaders have had to deny PLA involvement in clashes, suggestions of a curfew being enforced, and that Chief Executive Carrie Lam was on holiday
With no end in sight to anti-government protests in Hong Kong, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s administration has now found itself struggling against the regular onslaught of fake news that spreads swiftly and widely online.
Officials have been forced to go on a blitz recently against misinformation and false news claiming, among other things, that a curfew was about to be imposed, that People’s Liberation Army soldiers were being deployed in disguise as Hong Kong police officers, and that Lam was taking a week-long holiday. One academic even said officials should learn from US President Donald Trump and use social media to fight back.
The latest rumour to prompt a denial by the government on Wednesday concerned claims that the justice minister had rejected a proposal by her right-hand man, the director of public prosecutions, to set up an “independent prosecution committee” to handle cases involving extradition bill protests.
Half a day after that made headlines on major online news platforms, the justice department issued a brief statement dismissing the news as “totally unfounded”.
Professor Leung Tin-wai, a veteran newsman and head of Shue Yan University’s department of journalism and communication, said: “The spread of fake news is a sign that the public is losing confidence in the government. People easily choose to believe rumours, especially those against the government.”