Fabricated video falsely claims 'new travel restrictions' imposed on Malaysians
- Published on April 7, 2025 at 10:47
- Updated on April 7, 2025 at 10:54
- 2 min read
- By Raevathi SUPRAMANIAM, AFP Malaysia
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"Travel Restrictions for Malaysian Passport Holders by Several Countries?" reads a Facebook post sharing a video watermarked "Weird Globe" published on March 24, 2025.
The clip's narration claims several countries had imposed strict new travel bans on Malaysians.
Similar posts were shared elsewhere on Facebook and TikTok.
A Google keyword search shows the false clip was uploaded under the title "10 COUNTRIES SHOCKING MALAYSIANS WITH NEW TRAVEL BANS (2025)—THE COMPLETE BLACKLIST EXPOSED!" on Weird Globe's YouTube account on March 21.
The video lists eight countries that purportedly imposed new travel restrictions -- Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Canada, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and South Korea.
A check of the Weird Globe page found it repeatedly produces videos spreading misinformation and disinformation labelled "altered or synthetic content".
Malaysia's foreign ministry called the claims "entirely untrue" in its response to the false posts on March 25 (archived link).
"At present, there have been no changes to the visa policies affecting Malaysian travellers in the countries mentioned," it said.
According to a list published by the ministry, Malaysians only need visas to travel to two out of eight of the countries mentioned in the false video, Australia and Canada (archived here, here and here).
Malaysians can travel visa-free to Schengen countries, including Italy, Switzerland and Greece (archived link).
The same applies to Malaysians travelling to South Korea, New Zealand and the UAE (archived here, here and here).
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