The recent spate of attacks containing false news is very worrying indeed.
A number of the attacks seem to be targeting PN MP Jason Azzopardi, the lawyer for the Caruana Galizia family, with the articles being written making false claims about the MP. Other fake articles, for example, targeted Melvin Theuma.
The scammers are cloning local websites, including Newsbook, Net News, LovinMalta, Manuel Delia’s website and others, and are uploading fake news articles.
When reading an article, check the web address to make sure that it is the correct website and not some fake spoof site. That is the best way to know if you are on the official website or on a fake clone. They would contain certain variations of the official website’s web address.
This is an extremely serious situation and finding the culprits and charging them in court should be a top police priority.
These scammers know what they are doing, and it looks to be a well-coordinated attack. The move by these criminals could also undoubtedly impact the reputation of the MP, but also of the media houses that are being targeted.
Fake news sites are not something new, and have been around for years, however Malta has not witnessed such an attack on this level. This is a first, and it must be dealt with swiftly.
These false stories could further damage the media’s overall reputation and trust in the country. Passing the message on that such false sites are being created has never been so important than it is now.
The police are believed to be looking into this situation, and one hopes that the police have the resources necessary to track the culprits and anyone who may be funding them.
Malta is a highly polarised political country, however this is no excuse for such acts. Whoever is responsible must be held accountable.
A PN statement said that these “invented stories” are intended to undermine the PN parliamentary group, and also to try to silence the party from doing its duties. Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech has expressed his concern about the “fake news tactics aimed at confusing voters”.
These attacks happening so close to an election is also quite worrying, making the importance of stopping the scammers even more important.
Aside from cloning websites, scammers have also tried sending fake emails to newsrooms in an attempt to trick journalists into publishing false stories. Luckily this, so far, has not worked. The Malta Independent had discovered that the scammers were using a website that allows uses to send fake emails that appear to originate from real email accounts.
This coordinated attack must come to an end.