The bill was tabled ahead of a national election that is expected to be called within weeks and as Najib faces widespread criticism over the scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Under the Anti-Fake News 2018 bill, anyone who published so-called fake news could face fines of up to 500,000 ringgit ($128,140), up to 10 years in jail, or both.

"The proposed Act seeks to safeguard the public against the proliferation of fake news whilst ensuring the right to freedom of speech and expression under the Federal Constitution is respected," it said.

It defines fake news as "news, information, data or reports which is or are wholly or partly false" and includes features, visuals and audio recordings.

The law, which covers digital publications and social media, also applies to offenders outside Malaysia, including foreigners, as long as Malaysia or a Malaysian citizen were affected.

Apologies if posted

According to a report by The Atlantic, Conway is close to accepting the position of White House communications director to replace the Hope Hicks, who announced her resignation in February.

An investigation into a child abuse site has saved more than 100 children after a Queensland Police taskforce shut down the online paedophile ring.

Taskforce Argos took over Childs Play, and worked undercover on the site triggering arrests and rescues around the world.

The site's 3000 active members engaged in the exchange of images and videos of young children - some just babies - and used the forum to organise to engage in abuse.

Facebook offered "advanced matching" as part of their so-called Custom Audience feature to both the conservative (if not confusingly named) Liberal Party, as well as the "democratic socialist" Labor Party. The tool promised to allow the parties to compare data they had collected about voters - such as names, birth dates, phone numbers, postcodes and email addresses - and match that information to Facebook profiles.

The combination of data sets would then allow political parties to target Australian swing voters with custom tailored ads over Facebook, which advertised a 17% increase in matching rates using a beta version of the service provided to the Liberal Party.

Fairfax Media reports that while the conservative Liberal Party turned Facebook down over concerns that sending voter data overseas to Facebook servers would violate the Privacy Act and the Electoral Act, the Labor Party took Facebook up on their offer.