Sponsored posts that claim that MediaCorp artiste Chen Li Ping has been sacked as Mary Chia’s ambassador have been making its rounds on social media, receiving a lot of attention and shares. These posts claim that the reason for her being fired was because she revealed to the media the “real” reason for her weight loss was attributed to slimming pills called Garcinia Cambogia she has been taking.
While the sources don’t look legitimate (For instance, one of the posts say that Chen Li Ping spoke to Women’s Health, which is not even a Singapore publication. There is Men’s Health in Singapore that’s run by SPH, but Women’s Health has not been licensed here), it doesn’t stop netizens from believing in the posts.
Mary Chia has since clarified on their Facebook page and debunked the scam.
This is what the company said:
Clarification: Mary Chia would like to clarify and advise online users not to be taken in by this online scam syndicate. Ms Chen Liping has never consumed any slimming pills from any source in the course of her weight loss journey. She achieved her weight loss through the weight management program which the Company customized for her, as well as through adopting a healthy diet. Please do not be deceived by these fraudulant sponsored posts by unknown web merchants. The consumption of unknown pills and substances from shady sources may contain ingredients that may prove harmful. Please help us share this with your friends to prevent any online users from being taken in by this scam.
How do we know if a post is a scam?
Daily Vanity is your beauty best friend, but not quite an expert in debunking scams. However, we thought these tips by S.U.R.E, a campaign by the National Library Board to help cut through the online clutter and discern the truths from the lies, are useful. The tips can be easily remembered with the S.U.R.E acronym:
- Look at your source and find out who is talking to you.
- Understand the piece of information and find out its context.
- Research the other sources to find out if your information is true.
- Evaluate the information gathered and decide whether or not to share it.
In the case of this Mary Chia rumour, this is how you can apply S.U.R.E when you see the information:
- The source, for instance, is Women’s Fitness Guide. And the media quoted is Women’s Health. A quick Google search will tell you that these two are not available/legitimate sources in Singapore. The fact that Women’s Health is not a Singapore publication (why would a USA publication speak to Chen Li Ping?) should ring an alarm.
- While the information that you understand may sound possible, the ungrammatical copy may probably tell you that the source, which claim to be a magazine, isn’t legitimate.
- Your research can be as simple as going onto Mary Chia’s Facebook fan page. You’d notice that Chen Li Ping’s photo is still being used as its cover photo. If she has been fired, do you think the brand will still use the image?
- Finally, you should be able to evaluate that this is probably not true. And if you’re concerned enough, you could even drop Mary Chia a message on their Facebook page to clarify on the piece of news. But if your research is good enough, you should be able to decide that this is not a piece of news you want to continue sharing.
Related: Is SK-II banned in Western countries? SK-II clarifies.
