In an exercise to see how much people rely on social media for news, a Malaysian NGO placed an entirely fabricated story about Najib receiving millions of ringett into his bank account. It was quite widely reported by the press who were obviously more interested in getting a scoop than in checking the facts.

Similar stories have been published about the cause of the MH17 crash, some storiesno doubt "planted" by those seeking to create doubt as to who was really responsible.

The trouble is that the lie lingers around, sometime on discussion forums sometimes just in the fickle memories of those skimming through the news.

I don't know what the solution is other than becoming even more sceptical about what we are told, which would probably be the least desirable solution of all.

Yep, there's all sorts of rubbish out there on the 'net.

A positive thing with media and internet is that one can find support there for whatever one perceives to be the truth.

No smoke without fire, IMHO. I reckon it'd be a hard ask for anyone to believe that Malaysia and Malaysian politicians are corruption free - regardless of the accusations and counter accusations being unveiled on social media at the moment.

Are you suggesting the story in the Wall Street Journal is fabricated and a social media experiment?

It would appear so but equally the story could be true and the suggestion it was fabricated could have been fabricated.

The buzz today

MH 17 Cover Up Blasted Open by New Video, So much to hide | Veterans Today

Murdoch's News International running the video apparently.

I don't trust anything I haven't seen with my own eyes these days... the media and government wallahs lie and cheat beyond belief.

Yes, it's a very interesting video and one wonders where it's been all this time. It makes you somewhat suspicious of its authenticity that it's been hidden for so long, although there could be any number of reasons for that. Before the internet I expect this kind of stuff got covered up all the time but now with the internet it's conspiracy theories all the time. Truth has become a very rare commodity.

The video isn't that new at all the BBC broadcasted parts of it already on July 20th 2014.

I thought that was a different video altogether?

BBC correspondent disputes News Corp claims over MH17 footage

The BBC’s Australia correspondent, Jon Donnison, is disputing claims by Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers in Australia that they have discovered “disturbing new footage” of the aftermath of the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine last year.

It shows Russian-backed rebels ransacking the luggage of the 298 passengers and crew who were killed in the tragedy.

Donnison says in a tweet that the “world exclusive” published by several Australian News Corp titles, including the Sydney Daily Telegraph and the Australian , “is not new at all” because the BBC “broadcast it a year ago”.

In a second tweet, he wrote that he is now “looking forward to an apology” from the papers.

The footage has also been shown on CNN. The broadcaster refers to it as “stunning new video just released” by “News Corp Australia”.

According to the News Corp articles, it obtained the footage after a 12-month pursuit. But a fragment of that same footage can be seen, with a BBC logo, on YouTube.

Thirty-eight Australians lost their lives on MH17 and the footage has prompted the country’s prime minister, Tony Abbott, to call it “an atrocity.”

The News Corp papers state that the 17-minute long footage was smuggled out from the rebels’ base in the east Ukraine city of Donetsk.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/gre...r-mh17-footage

Don't believe everything you read (especially if you read it in one of Murdoch's papers)

I think we need a media police to arrest journalists who don't check their stories before publishing.

Just goes to show can't believe anything that you haven't actually witnessed!

I saw something yesterday so shocking that I couldn't believe my own eyes.😨

If it's not on Twitter then don't believe your own eyes