[Photo: FILE]
The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre says an online article attributing statements to FWCC Coordinator Shamima Ali regarding the death penalty is a fabricated fake news story.
The FWCC issued a statement this afternoon advising members of the public to exercise caution regarding fabricated news stories and fake newspaper pages currently circulating online using the mastheads and branding of legitimate media organisations, including The Fiji Times and Fiji Sun.
The organisation says any attempt to falsely associate FWCC or its Coordinator with support for the death penalty is entirely misleading and contrary to the organisation’s long-standing human rights principles and advocacy.
The FWCC says it understands that some of the content is being circulated through a social media account identifying itself as “Richard Prasad Apted”. FWCC is also aware that prominent journalists, as well as musicians and other public figures, have reportedly been targeted through separate online accounts circulating similar fabricated and misleading content.
“What is deeply concerning is the apparent pattern emerging through the use of fake newspaper layouts, impersonation tactics and coordinated online harassment targeting individuals across media, civil society and the wider community,”
FWCC says it believes Fiji urgently needs a national conversation and a coordinated response to the growing spread of online disinformation, impersonation and digital harassment.
The FWCC says disinformation campaigns have the potential to inflame tensions, distort public understanding and undermine trust in democratic institutions, media organisations and civil society voices.
