DILI, 28 august 2021 (TATOLI) – A report of the Secretary of Social Communications (SECOMS) revealed that 90 accounts of social media were detected during the period of may to august, spreading HOAXES or misinformation.
SECOMS’ Chief of Staff, Osorio Almeida informed that the 90 social media accounts, consisting of 70 fake accounts and 20 real accounts disseminated HOAXES – Spreading information without facts and accurate data, inciting discrimination, and defamation.
“These 90 accounts are mainly the internet-based communication platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and so on. SECOMS will use this figure as a reference to raise the awareness of all entities and communities on the fight against HOAXES during the pandemic,” said Almeida in a press conference at the Palace of Government, on friday.
Last month, in an international seminar realized by SECOMS and MAPCOMS on the development of global digitalization and its impact on Timor-Leste, the Secretary of State for Social Communications (SECOMS), Merício Juvinal dos Reis ‘Akara’ said that verifying the contents and sources of the news stories are important to combat HOAXES.
In Timor-Leste, of the 1.3 million people, there are 599.700 internet users, with 440.000 actively using social media, saying the number of internet users increased by 16 percent every year, Akara revealed.
“In Timor-Leste, we have approximately 420.000 Facebook users, Instagram is 83.000, Linkedin is 26.000, and 3.150 Twitter users,” said Akara.
In addition, the President of Timor-Leste’s Press Council, Virgílio da Silva Guterres said that Digital Literacy is an urgent need for Timorese internet users to know how to select relevant information on the internet.
“Those who produce the misinformation news are not ordinary people. These people are intellectuals, who are well educated and have enough information to produce a well-written piece of a fake news story. The Press Council found that fake news stories often spread during the election campaign. One important key to fight misinformation is through education – family education, non-formal education, formal education, and digital literacy,” said Guterres.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges Rosario
