By Salawaty Supardi
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- More than six decades since its founding in Bangkok in 1961, the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) continues to stand as the region’s premier bulwark for verified news exchange, confronting an unprecedented surge in digital manipulation, cross-border disinformation and information warfare.
At the recent gathering in Moscow, Russia, to commemorate its 65th anniversary, the 41-member alliance, which represents 35 countries and two-thirds of the global news flow, reaffirmed the vital mission of national news agencies in defending factual integrity in an increasingly fractured media ecosystem.
Hosted from Sept 20 to 23 by Russian News Agency TASS, which holds the OANA presidency until 2028, the landmark assembly brought together media leaders representing over half the world’s population, demonstrating resolute media solidarity amidst a turbulent digital landscape.
The Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), which has played an active role in OANA since joining in 1968, participated in the event as an Executive Board member, represented by its Chief Executive Officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin and Editor-in-Chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj.
Prominent news agencies taking part in the assembly included the Kuwait News Agency, Saudi Press Agency, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, Indonesia’s ANTARA News Agency, China’s Xinhua News Agency, Iran’s Mehr News Agency and Turkiye’s Anadolu Ajansi.
The extensive four-day programme featured the 58th Executive Board Meeting (EBM) and Technical Committee Meeting, the OANA Awards ceremony, and a commemorative photo exhibition titled "History and Development: 65 Years of Information Exchange in the Asia-Pacific Region".
This was followed by a high-level plenary session themed "OANA: 65 Years of Experience. Building a Sustainable Media Community: The Organisation’s Role in Shaping the Future of the Region’s Information Field".
Setting the tone at the plenary session, TASS Director-General and OANA President Andrey Kondrashov stressed that regional media cooperation had to remain firmly anchored in credibility, warning that “when information is false, trust is destroyed”.
In a major breakthrough to fortify defences against information disorder, OANA inked a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN) to build a global architecture of trust and establish standardised fact-checking protocols.
Bernama further broadened its international footprint as Nur-ul Afida signed an MoU with TASS, represented by Kondrashov, to expand cooperation in news exchange, multimedia content, digital storytelling and the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
At the core of these counter-disinformation efforts was the International Forum "Dialogue about Fakes 4.0", organised by the GFCN at the Russia National Centre. The forum brought together more than 2,000 journalists, media chiefs, business leaders and experts from 80 countries to advance fact-checking methodologies.
Themed "International Cooperation in Information Resilience Field: Principles of Joint Protection and Mutual Responsibility", the plenary session was officiated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Delegates sounded a sharp alarm over emerging digital threats, particularly generative AI and deepfakes, which OANA Secretary-General and TASS Deputy Director-General Marat Abulkhatin described as the “virus of the digital age” due to their rapid evolution and stealth.
Bernama brought decisive momentum to the forum, leveraging its longstanding heritage as an OANA member since 1968 and a former two-term president from 1981 to 1985 and 2004 to 2007.
Addressing the plenary session of "Dialogue about Fakes 4.0", Nur-ul Afida proposed that OANA operationalise collective resilience through a Rapid Verification Network for swift cross-border claim verification, an Information Resilience and AI Training Programme to upskill newsrooms, and a Framework on Responsible AI and Verified Content to establish clear editorial guardrails.
As part of frontline efforts to counter fake news, Nur-ul Afida shared that Bernama operates its own dedicated fact-checking platform, MyCheck Malaysia, which actively complements the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) Sebenarnya.my portal.
At the same time, she noted that Malaysia is fortified by robust legal instruments that provide avenues for action against certain forms of harmful or false communication that threaten public order and incite alarm, notably under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA 1998).
Echoing this proactive stance during a panel titled "GFCN and OANA: Adopting Joint Approaches to Countering Disinformation", Arul Rajoo stressed that no single newsroom can police the expansive digital ecosystem on its own.
He said the unchecked proliferation of bloggers, digital influencers and citizen commentators poses a far greater challenge than conventional media competition, as unverified claims and speculative hearsay are routinely pushed directly to audiences without editorial filters.
Capitalising on the high-level platform, Nur-ul Afida and Arul Rajoo also held bilateral talks with Vietnam News Agency (VNA) General Director Vu Viet Trang, the upcoming host of the 59th EBM.
They agreed to elevate longstanding ties by expanding news exchange, bespoke travel capsules and vibrant social media content in support of Visit Malaysia 2026 and upcoming regional summits.
Beyond boardroom deliberations, delegates experienced an evocative cultural immersion in the Russian capital, featuring visits to iconic landmarks including Red Square and the State Tretyakov Gallery, alongside a welcome dinner cruise along the Moskva River showcasing panoramic night views of the illuminated city.
Delegates were also hosted to an evening reception at the historic Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve in southern Moscow, an exquisite 18th-century architectural masterpiece originally commissioned by Empress Catherine II as an imperial suburban residence, which left an indelible impression on visitors.
Ultimately, OANA’s 65th anniversary delivered the resounding message that while technology would continue to reshape the global media frontier, innovation alone could not safeguard truth without an editorial culture anchored in rigorous verification and uncompromising accountability.
Navigating the future would demand deeper cross-border synergy among industry stakeholders, ensuring professional journalism remains an indispensable beacon of truth across all eras to come.
-- BERNAMA