Fabricated Singapore media report targets Malaysia PM

Published on September 10, 2025 at 10:36
2 min read
By Najmi Mamat, AFP Malaysia

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has continued to draw criticism from opposition parties over a perceived lack of reform from his unity government, but a screenshot of a purported news article from a Singaporean news outlet that the leader has "lost public support" is manipulated. Berita Mediacorp said it did not publish such a report, which also misidentified two Singaporean lawmakers as "political analysts".

A screenshot of the supposed report from Singaporean broadcaster Mediacorp's Malay-language website Berita was shared on Facebook on September 4, 2025, captioned, "It's certainly so".

The Malay-language headline reads: "Two prominent Singaporean political analysts say Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has lost public support, the ruling party is set for a heavy defeat in the 16th General Election (GE16)."

The header photo of the article shows a man and a woman.

Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on September 10, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

Anwar faced a major protest in July, organised by opposition parties who claim he has not done enough to address rising living costs (archived link).

Political parties in the Southeast Asian country are also gradually gearing up for elections, which by law have to be held no later than mid-February 2028.

A recent survey by Malaysia-based independent Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research found the majority of Malaysian voters gave Anwar a positive approval rating of 55 percent.

The image was shared in several other Facebook posts but Berita Mediacorp told AFP on September 9 it was "fake news posing as content" from the outlet.

The broadcaster added it had not published any such article quoting political analysts on Anwar's declining support or the potential outcome of the general election as of September 10, 2025.

A Google reverse image search followed by keyword searches found the original article was published on Berita Mediacorp on September 3, 2025 (archived link).

The header photo features Singaporean lawmakers Syed Harun Alhabsyi and Hazlina Abdul Halim from the ruling People's Action Party, not political analysts (archived here and here).

The Malay-language headline reads: "Cost of living, family and youth are the focus of first-term MPs Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi and Hazlina Halim for the 15th Parliamentary session."

There is no mention of Anwar in the story, which features interviews with the two Singaporean lawmakers about the issues they hoped to tackle in parliament.

Screenshot comparison between the fabricated article (left) and a genuine Berita Mediacorp report (right)

AFP has debunked other false claims circulating in Malaysia that used doctored or fabricated news reports here and here.

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