Imitation may be a form of flattery but impersonation is not. I have just found out that someone's been posting articles online that are purportedly by me. Like this one. Now anyone who's followed me all these years will recognise the way I write. And that article is not my style at all.
I have reason to be concerned about this. The Government has just passed a new law, the Evidence Amendment (No 2) Act 2012, which among other things, will go after anyone who allegedly posts views that may be different from others, even if they have posted them anonymously or by using a pseudonym. For an explanation of this, read this and this.
What this means for me is, if someone impersonates me and posts things which I didn't say, I would still be held liable for them. Unless I can prove that it wasn't me. In other words, I am guilty of posting those words until I can prove I'm innocent. Is this justice?? Interestingly enough, as far back as 2007, people have addressed this problem, as in this article.
So people, please do take note. This is my only blog. Apart from this, I write my column, Musings in The Star. Occasionally I will write a piece for some other online portal but never another blog. Be wary also of 'quotes' by me that cannot be traced to any source, such as newspaper interviews, and comments by me that really don't sound like me. As you know, I'm always polite so anything that has lots of rude words in it is definitely NOT me. I've been told that someone makes comments under the name 'Marina M'. There's a slight difference between that and how I identify myself. If you're ever in doubt, ask me.
Thank you!
I have decided that I am going to tag Najib in all my FB and Twitter post, so we can publish together-gether from now on ;-)
ReplyDeleteIf they don't like what I say or write and want to take action, well then he goes down with me because I tagged him and so he "published" it on his wall too, kan...
That happened to me in mid 2007. Blogger Mahaguru put up a posting of someone impersonating me. It was Susan Loone, then in Bangkok who alerted me that it was not my writing style. When alerted the blogger brought down the post accompanied by the necessary apology.
ReplyDeleteWe are sorry to hear this has happened. Years ago a competitor to our industrial business took the time to download all our website content, edit it slightly then republish it as their own. Even photos of our factory were photoshopped so our name was removed and replaced with the competitors. Its an unfortunate possibility for any content producers in the digital age.
ReplyDeleteDear Marina,
ReplyDeleteOri is always Ori. Do not be disturbed by fakes. Anyone who knows you (through your thought level) will know the truth. Sleep well.