Dear all,

What a satire Joke?

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2019/10/14/satire-site-pokes-fun-at-ex-top-cops-onion-gaffe/

Satire site pokes fun at ex-top cop’s Onion gaffe

FMT Reporters - October 14, 2019 7:47 AM

PETALING JAYA: Satire site Tapir Times yesterday poked fun at a former top cop whose gaffe over an article by US satirical paper The Onion earned him ridicule online, continuing the line of parody begun in the original report.

It said former inspector-general Musa Hassan had been “cleared of all suspected involvement in ongoing CIA cases” after he shared the article titled “CIA Issues Posthumous Apology After New Evidence Clears Osama Bin Laden Of Involvement In 9/11 Attacks”.

“‘Once it was revealed the former Malaysian police chief didn’t know all you need is a pulse and a website to produce silly online news, he was no longer considered a potential mastermind behind any ongoing CIA and FBI investigations,’ CIA sources confirmed,” it added.

“‘In a separate statement, US President Donald Trump said Mr Hassan is welcome at the White House any time to join him for cheeseburgers.'”

Musa, who refused to back down over the article published Jan 10 despite being told by numerous Twitter users that The Onion was a parody site, had said that the US government must issue a statement about it.

Calling the article an example of irresponsible journalism, he said the integrity of the CIA could be questioned if it did not deny the report.

DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, in a statement today, said it was clear that Musa did not understand the meaning of satire.

He added that Musa, who lectures at UiTM’s Centre of Media and Information Warfare Studies, had made Malaysia “the butt of jokes on Twitter”.

“This does not speak well for the calibre and quality of Malaysia’s top public officers or university education,” he said.

“UiTM’s Centre of Media and Information Warfare Studies should be one of the media schools and agencies which should play a leading role to promote national media literacy, from kindergarten level to universities as is happening in Finland and other countries concerned about the danger of fake news.

“But how can they play such a role when they are ignorant about the character of Onion.com or The Tapir Times?”

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2019/10/13/joke-article-makes-ex-igp-musa-the-butt-of-jokes/

Joke article makes ex-IGP Musa the butt of jokes

FMT Reporters - October 13, 2019 10:47 PM

PETALING JAYA: Former Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan was the butt of jokes on Twitter today after he shared a 10-month-old satirical article about the CIA, apparently in all seriousness, and refused to back down.

The article, entitled “CIA Issues Posthumous Apology After New Evidence Clears Osama Bin Laden Of Involvement In 9/11 Attacks”, was published on Jan 10 by The Onion, which specialises in satire, but had resurfaced recently when shared by some Twitter users.

Musa made serious deadpan responses in reply to people who pointed out that the article was a joke and not meant to be taken seriously. He called the article an example of fake news. He also said:

The US government must issue a statement about the article;

The Onion should deny it. “If not, it means that America allows the spreading of fake news”;

The article was an example of “irresponsible journalism”;

It was “no wonder the world is so chaotic because they allow fake news. It’s very easy to know if something is true or not”; and

The CIA’S integrity could be questioned if it did not come out with a statement to deny the article.

The article had also been republished by Yahoo News in its entertainment section on Jan 23, but was later taken down without explanation.

Many Twitter users took pains to point out The Onion’s background and gave examples of other sites that published similar parodies of news articles.

In the face of the criticism and suggestions, Musa remained adamant, prompting one user to say: “Enough. Don’t add to your appearance of stupidity. End of story” to which Musa responded:

“Why all the fuss because I shared a story that has nothing to do with Malaysia. We must remain aware of what is being done by the country held up as the world’s defender against terrorism.”

When a user said that the remarks by a former IGP would reflect badly on the police force, Musa replied: “What does this have to do with PDRM (Polis Di Raja Malaysia)? This is about America’s actions against Osama.”

To another user who asked if Musa understood the meaning of satire, the former IGP said: “Police investigate and gather evidence against those involved in crime, but politicians declare them innocent and their detention wrongful.”

He did not expand on this remark, but it came after police had detained two assemblymen from the DAP among 12 people for investigation into links with the defunct Sri Lankan organisation Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The detentions were criticised by a group of DAP members of parliament, who demanded the release of the detainees.