By Ling Hui
KUCHING, Jan 18: Facebook group admin ‘Jenifer Lawrence’ who has come under fire for a post about Covid-19 in the state is taking a long rest from posting any Covid-19 updates in the ‘Sarawak Covid-19 Awareness Group’.
While remaining their position as one of the admins of the said private group, ‘Jenifer Lawrence’ said they would not be making any posts or answering any Facebook messages for a long time as they are relieving themselves of their duties for now.
This was their most recent post in the group yesterday (Jan 17). They also apologised for the series of events on Jan 15 regarding their release of incorrect information on Covid-19 cases.
The user had uploaded a post about Sarawak having a record surge of 321 new cases on that day. The post went viral before the official report from State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) was released, revealing there were only 60 cases.
“As I said before, I am also a normal person who will make mistakes. Sometimes, I will give you less accurate information. I take the chance to apologise if I have caused you any difficulties.
“End of word, I take this opportunity to apologise to everyone for my words, rudeness in language and any lacking during this time. Please forgive me,” ‘Jenifer Lawrence’ wrote in the post.
Adding on, the user said they take full responsibility for their actions, claiming they were deceived by the figures from an unofficial source. They also expressed guilt over the incident which has caused confusion among the Facebook group’s members.
‘Jenifer Lawrence’ asserted that apologies have been made to the group’s members immediately after they found out that the information they shared was incorrect, but they did not admit to the act of spreading fake news, as claimed by many netizens.
“This group is a private group that is only for member readings. For this mistake, I, as an admin have apologised to all my members.
“No matter what my explanation is, there are still a few parties who blame me for spreading fake news.
“But I need to explain that I admit I made mistake when posting yesterday (Jan 15) but saying that I spread fake news is not true because my intention was not to create civil misery,” ‘Jenifer Lawrence’ explained.
Other than being critised heavily on Facebook over the incident, ‘Jenifer Lawrence’ who is also known as ‘Admin JL’ was wanted by the police for allegedly spreading fake news the following day (Jan 16) after the information was uploaded.
The series of events has led to their temporary retreat, but ‘Jenifer Lawrence’ expressed gratitude to the group’s members who have supported them in their work throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I will never forget all the support you have given me. I really appreciate it, I’ve spent too much time on this group.
“This is the time I retreat to explore new things and experience new challenges. Hopefully when I return to posting in the future, Covid-19 has vanished on this beloved earth,” ‘Jenifer Lawrence’ added. — DayakDaily
For more information, please visit Sarawak Covid-19 Awareness Group.
