Last but not least: Tweeted and forgiven
The social web is rife with nasty comments and accusations. In Malaysia, authorities are now taking unconventional measures against offenders. Those who tweet the same message 100 times will be forgiven.
This is what happened to Malaysian internet activist Fahmi Fadzil. According to the British newspaper The Guardian, the man had accused his pregnant girlfriend's employer, a publisher, on Twitter. A few hours later, Fadzil apologized to the company, but the company lawyer showed little understanding. Instead, he demanded that Fadzil tweet the same apology message a hundred times within three days, which the man eventually did. For three days, every 30 minutes.
The lawyer did not want to reveal who came up with the idea for the unusual punishment. However, he hopes that this case will make Malaysians aware of the impact of their comments online. Be that as it may. In any case, many prominent Twitter users expressed their sympathy for Fadzil. And while he had 4,200 followers last week, he now has over 5,500.
