Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1539233
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 SEPTEMBER 2025 NEWS lies beneath the grass debate claims of 'fake news.' Experts, officials and the public now clash over what's really happening beneath the surface. The angry digital mob in Thom- as's Facebook post now moved to Jason's page, complaining of how the Ta' Qali management unit turned the green patch into a grey area. But angry mobs are never fact-checked, most especially on social media. Some looked at the photo and assumed the picnic ar- ea was concreted over—which it wasn't. Then, popular podcaster Trudy Kerr visited Ta' Qali to see for herself what happened to the space. She filmed her experience and uploaded it to Instagram. "The grass area where you have a picnic, walk your dog and enjoy yourself. It's gone. I'm absolutely heartbroken," she told her 7,000 followers. This was the start of several on- line tirades from Jason Micallef about the perils of fake news. The 'FAKE NEWS' epidemic In his first post, the former ex- ecutive chairman of ONE warned of "an epidemic of fake news". He said "certain failed podcast- ers" live off spreading fake news as clickbait to make money. He made it clear that no trees were cut down, and no grass was re- moved (Kerr claimed none of these things). Rather, a "general improvement" was made to the soil to prevent it from turning in- to dust. "Fine sand and specific gravel material were spread across parts of the ground. This was done to suppress the huge amount of dust generated by the soil during the summer months. This fine sand and gravel are special mate- rials used in park grounds, from which grass naturally sprouts again once the autumn and win- ter rains come," he explained. The situation might have stopped there, but a day later, Micallef threated to take legal action "against those who creat- ed the fake news and blatant lie about the picnic area in Ta' Qali". "The bullying by certain people on social media, who only do it to make money, has had its day, and I will fight it with all my strength. People like the failed and false podcaster Trudy Kerr — their time is up," he told his Facebook followers. This combative approach im- pressed no one. The Nationalist Party called this behaviour out, as did Partit Momentum and the Institute of Maltese Journalists. After this new round of backlash, Micallef made a third Facebook post about the "poison" of fake news and misinformation. "If you take legal action against those spreading fake news— which is worse than a lie—the usual chorus immediately attacks you, accusing you of stifling free- dom of expression!! Because now it seems there is a supposed right to lie as much as you want, about whoever you want!" The sensitivities of a nation Ta' Qali is a special place. It's where you learned how to ride a bike. It's where you scraped up your knee climbing a tree or play- ing a ball game with friends. You might have had school outings in the area. You might have had a first date there too. Maybe even a second date. The space is filled with the childhood memories of an entire country, so forgive the public for their sensitivities on the matter. When journalists asked Prime Minister Robert Abela about the whole ordeal last week, he ad- mitted that some aspects of the renovation should have been ex- plained better beforehand. Hen- wood spoke similarly while in Ta' Qali. "I think there should have been an explanation of the process," he said. "It might not be legally necessary, but time has always showed that, if you go to the pub- lic and explain the process, yes people will still comment and have their opinion but for others their mind could be at rest that this space is being taken care of in a certain way." The trouble in Ta' Qali might be less about sand versus grass but instead about how we value shared spaces, and how little it takes for trust between citizens and institutions to fray. Until then, the park will remain under scrutiny as authorities, ex- perts and the public wait to see whether the newly laid surface will deliver the promised results once the seasons change.