Social media judgement backfires on Malaysian publisher Blu Inc

The defamation proceedings were initiated when Fahmi, who had around 4,000 followers at the time, tweeted in January that his pregnant friend had been poorly treated by her employers at a magazine run by Blu Inc.

According to Fahmi's lawyer, Syahredzan Johan, the terms and precise wording of the apologetic tweets were agreed to by both parties.

The tweets which read,  "#/100 I have DEFAMED Blu Inc Media & Female Magaine. My tweets on their HR policies are untrue. I retract those words & hereby apologize", have gone on to become a trend on Twitter under the hashtag #defahmi.

"I've DEFAMED Blu Inc Media & Female Magazine. My tweets bout using their mags as kitty litter liner r untrue. I retract & apologize #defahmi" reads one such supportive tweet.

The issue received over 2,400 tweets over two days from 981 users, according to a site tracking the hashtag. Fahmi has also gained over 500 followers on Twitter since the story broke.

When contacted yesterday evening, Fahmi was surprised to hear that he had become global news. Unable by the terms of the settlement to comment on the case, he would only say, "I have gained a new awareness of the impact of social media and am far more conscious of what I do and say on it."

Public opinion, on twitter and the blogosphere, appears to unanimously agree that the incident is shaping up to be a public relations nightmare for Blu Inc Media.

"By forcing Fahmi to apologise like this on Twitter, Blu Inc has caused this issue to be far larger than it would have been if they'd just let the original Tweet die a natural death. Now, it doesn't even matter if he was in the wrong, the entire social media scene is rooting for the underdog," commented columnist and radio show host Umapagan Ampikaipakan.

"Tweets, by and large, live only three hours and while he's influential, Fahmi's not a global celebrity. Or he wasn't till now," said Ben Israel, digital strategist for Edelman Singapore. "This entire incident underscores the impact of social media. It's not merely a throwaway marketing tool. Companies need to realise it carries legal, global and social ramifications that can spin out of control."

Producer for social media podcast The Life Online Show John Lim agreed that statements made on social media that were wrong and harmful should be acknowledged and corrected, but the means by which this settlement was reached made Blu Inc Media look like a bully. "No context was provided by Blu Inc for his apology, this has given Fahmi's friends incentive to mock it. Also, the condition in which the apology is to be doled out appears childish - provoking responses in kind."

Israel agreed that, setting the wisdom of the agreement aside, Blu Inc should have been first out with a statement that placed the entire situation and settlement in context. "As things stand, events are shaping completely out of their control," he said.

Blu Inc Media, who were contacted yesterday for comment, has yet to issue a statement or otherwise comment on the issue.

Update: Go here for Blu Inc Media's response