MAKCIK Bawang and Pakcik Bawang. Who are they? If we translate them word-for-word, Makcik and Pakcik Bawang are Auntie and Uncle Onion.
Yes, you read it right. What do they have to do with onions? If you are baffled, so was I when I first heard of the term earlier in the year. I scratched my and made an educated guess, but it was still not enough to pacify my curiosity. I had to make sure my guess was accurate. And so, my research began.
After consulting friends and “experts”, I finally got a general idea of what “Makcik” and “Pakcik Bawang” meant — the consensus is that these men and women are those who come together to chitchat and gossip about others.
The term was said to originate from activities usually participated by women who are preparing for feasts or a “kenduri”. These men and women would talk among themselves about any topic under the sun and giving opinion, and all the while peeling onions.
The topics range from current affairs to last year’s news, including the recent brouhaha over the crispy chicken rendang, and about celebrities having affairs, or some juicy news about VIPs.
My jaw dropped when my research revealed that Makcik and Pakcik Bawang have become so popular that they even have associations widely established on Facebook.
I am impressed that they have adopted technology by moving from the casual gathering in the kitchen to the social media platform.
The Internet has become their playground, and today their talk has ventured into politics and about Malaysia going to the polls on May 9. The ideas and views are bantered about on social media, and it is getting more and more intense as the date approaches.
It certainly looks like things are hotting up in the cyberworld, and it gets hotter when you throw Makcik and Pakcik Bawang into the mix. The explosion of information, factual or false, is cluttering the Internet. It made my head spin just sifting through them.
This is why I have reached a point that I cannot trust anything being uploaded on the world wide web (www).
Call me jaded, I am.
The Asan Institute for Policy Studies stated in 2010, through Professor Kwon Sangmin, who had said the cyber culture promotes an information chain reaction and group polarisation, therefore hinders the distribution of accurate information, which is an essential element of democracy.
Realising the danger of fake news, many countries, including Malaysia, have put in place a law to curb the spread of false news and information.
So much has been written about the topic, and many have argued about it on different mediums, therefore, I will leave it to the experts as I do not want to sound like a broken record.
However, not much have been said or written about checkology here on the home front.
Checkology is the creation of the News Literacy Project, a non-profit outfit founded by former Los Angeles Times reporter, Alan Miller.
Since 2009, the tiny eight-person outfit has been working one-on-one with schools to craft a curriculum that teaches students how to be more savvy news users and put together courses on an online portal called Checkology.
The VOAnews.com has reported that checkology was used by thousands of educators in the United States and in 90 other countries.
There were numerous students’ testimonials indicating that Checkology had helped spot false news. Some students said knowing how to decipher what’s real or otherwise had made it easier for them to go through the news and “rest easier, knowing one will not be tricked easily”.
A very powerful insight. Perhap, the time is ripe for us to empower the people, especially our children to be savvy news consumers. Checkology may be the way to do just this.
Malaysia has a similar portal, called “sebenarnya.com” introduced by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) last year to counter the spread of fake news. The tagline reads “Tidak Pasti, Jangan Kongsi” (Do not share if unsure). Locally, it is among the more popular portals, receiving some two million hits monthly, it was reported.
Users can check and report news items which have not been authenticated, either through social media, short messaging services, blogs or websites; so that
it can be verified by official channels or relevant government agencies.
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the global voice of the library and information profession, has come up with an infographics with eight simple steps, based on FactCheck.org’s 2016 article “How to Spot Fake News”, urging it to be shared.
“The more we crowdsource our wisdom, the wiser the world becomes,” said the IFLA.
The eight steps are:
Consider the source;
Read beyond the headlines;
Check the credibility of the author;
Are there supporting sources?;
Check the date as re-posting of old news, stories doesn't mean they're relevant to current events;
Is it a joke?;
Check your biases, and,
Ask the experts.
It seems like a practical list, which all of us can easily apply. So, people, before “membawang” (or, gossiping) please check your facts.
With more than 15 years in journalism and a masters in Counselling Psychology, the writer is always drawn to the mystery of the human mind and behaviours.