Fake Lianhe Zaobao articles about local actress Xiang Yun surface on Facebook, Instagram
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In 2022, photos of the actress were also used in fake advertisements to promote diet pills.
PHOTOS: LIANHE ZAOBAO
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SINGAPORE – Fake news articles featuring local actress Xiang Yun have surfaced on social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, prompting Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao to report the issue to Meta.
Zaobao reported on May 31 that a netizen had come across a sponsored post on Facebook that included screenshots of a fake Facebook account impersonating the actress, and a fake WeChat conversation between her and Zaobao.
Clicking on the post redirects users to a fake Zaobao website, with an article in Chinese about fans demanding the release of the actress, following a controversial interview.
According to the May 31 report, the fake website is different from Zaobao’s real website as its link does not begin with “zaobao”, and the menu button does not work.
On May 31, another netizen encountered a sponsored Instagram story showing a fake Zaobao report which falsely claimed that the actress had accidentally revealed a secret on live television, and police officers were searching her house.
In an interview with Zaobao on May 31, Xiang Yun said she was notified of such fake news by her fans.
“I want to let readers know that these reports are not true, and I hope everyone can distinguish between what is true and what is not,” added the 62-year-old.
She said that she was more worried about fake advertisements that use her photo to sell diet pills than fake Lianhe Zaobao reports.
In 2022, the actress warned fans on Facebook
In a telephone call with The Straits Times on June 1, she said she has made multiple reports to the police and Facebook in recent years about such fake news and advertisements.
“I’m already feeling quite helpless and hopeless,” she added.
In response to queries, Lianhe Zaobao editor Goh Sin Teck confirmed that the infringement issue had been reported to Meta.
“They have acknowledged our report and are still in the process of gathering facts. It appears that the posts were sponsored posts and they were pushed to users (by) some algorithms, so we cannot say for certain whether they have been fully taken down, or it has circulated to beyond Meta”, said Mr Goh.
He advised readers to follow Zaobao’s official social media accounts which have accreditation ticks to ensure that they are informed when such fake posts surface.
