Malaysia launches AI chatbot to combat fake news
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A chatbot named Aifa, which was developed by Malaysia, can verify text messages in four main languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.
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CYBERJAYA - WhatsApp users can now stop fake news from spreading by using a new chatbot to verify text messages before forwarding them, said Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
He said that the chatbot – Aifa, or Artificial Intelligence Fact-Check Assistant – can verify text messages in four main languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.
“From 2020 to Jan 27, 2025, a total of 25,114 fake news items have been removed,” said Mr Fahmi, who was at Aifa’s launch at the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) headquarters on Jan 28.
“We found that as of late, the situation has worsened whereby criminals are widely using fake news and deep fakes.
“Licensing of social media platforms is only a part of the government’s initiatives. The King has agreed to the amendments to the MCMC Act to curb porn, cyber bullying and scams,” he added.
Mr Fahmi said Aifa on WhatsApp would keep a check on messages which are forwarded without verifying, and highlighted that fake news spreads faster than Malaysia’s internet speed, one of the fastest in South-east Asia.
“A few weeks ago, there was news that the International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz had jumped parties from Umno to PKR, which was not true, and it went viral,” he added.
“Then, we have the one where Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh was alleged to be the daughter of the founder of the YTL Corporation. Another was the fake news of 1.2 million China nationals being in the country.”
He said MCMC has collaborated with strategic partners to develop and provide chatbot services on WhatsApp and the Sebenarnya.my portal.
“The chatbot initiative led by MCMC will serve as a platform to help users verify the accuracy of information spread through the application,” added Mr Fahmi.
“Aifa would help the public quickly and easily verify and obtain accurate information, accelerate the response to false information online and strengthen the role of Sebenarnya.my in combating the spread of fake news in Malaysia.”
Mr Fahmi said Aifa uses algorithms and machine learning to match information with reliable sources, and then quickly provides users with accurate and verified information.
“Currently, Aifa only accepts input in text format. In the future, Aifa will be capable of accepting input in various formats.”
According to data from MCMC, the amount of fake news items detected after fact-checking throughout the past year reached nearly 20,000.
“In 2024, MCMC requested the removal of 19,546 fake news items from various online platforms. Of that number, 17,245 pieces of content were removed after being verified as fake news by all the involved platforms,” said Mr Fahmi.
“As of Jan 27, MCMC has requested the removal of 1,575 fake news items. Of these, 1,233 fake news pieces were removed by the respective platforms.” THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
