Pranksters used Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar win to spread fake news that the Malaysian president had declared a National holiday to celebrate the feat!

For her role as Evelyn Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng received the Academy Award for Best Actress becoming the first Asian individual to win the Oscar for Best Actress, the first Malaysian to win an Academy Award in any category, and the second woman of colour to win Best Actress after Halle Berry in 2002.

 Star Media Group Bhd, which owns The Star’s online portal, alerted the public to a fake image that claims the Malaysia Prime Minister announced a Wednesday (March 15) public holiday to celebrate Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar win.

A picture, depicting a manipulated image which misuses The Star’s identity, is making the rounds on social media.

The tampered picture shows a lookalike website bearing the headline “PM Anwar declares public holiday on a Wednesday: ‘This is the pride of a nation!’” dated March 13, 2023.

This is a misrepresentation of The Star’s actual news coverage, it said.

A check on the Lifestyle section of The Star’s portal, which houses the Entertainment category, confirms that no such article was carried amid the slew of news on Yeoh’s historic Best Actress win at the 2023 Oscars.

The Prime Minister’s Department has also issued a statement on its official Facebook Page to declare the image manipulation as a clear instance of fake news.

Prepared by newsnet desk from media reports

  Cinema, Malaysia, Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, Oscars 2023, President Anwar