OFFSTONE | JUNE 2021 | FKP USIM

33 SHARE RELEVANT INFORMATION ONLY: MUSLIMS MUST AVOID INVOLVING IN PROLONGED SLANDER OF DEFAMATION By: Dr. Siti Suriani Othman suriani@usim.edu.my / sssuriani3979@gmail.com Author is a senior lecturer at the Communication Program, Faculty of Leadership and Management (FKP), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). She holds a Ph.D in journalism from Nottingham Trent University, UK. Her research interest is in Malaysian journalism (print and online). She is a writer and has written more than 250 feature stories for local and international media and has published 11 single-authored books. ABSTRACT Muslims are among the highest online users in the world. However, we must also be extra careful in offering information to others especially in the time of the pandemic. Muslims are reminded to always choose relevant information to share to avoid harmful communication and not to get caught up in the sin of prolonged slander. Introduction We all understood the importance of communicating relevant messages to ensure the effectiveness of communication and achieve the desired goals. Yet, in this era of the pandemic, making sure true and relevant information is shared is far more important than ever before. A study by Cristina Mesa Vieira of the University of Bern, Switzerland, and colleagues in 2020 concluded that miscommunication, social isolation, and poorer socioeconomic status can impair the wellbeing of vulnerable groups. In this regard, I argue that these three factors may not only adversely affect vulnerable groups such as indigenous, prison, and homeless populations; migrants, the elderly, people with disabilities, and healthcare workers, but also the general public because of the long-anticipated pandemic period and tracking everyone, as well as the increasing miscommunication around the world, especially in the era of crisis.