Caroline Muscat, the editor of the online news platform The Shift News, announced that she intends to sue Prime Minister Robert Abela for defamation after he mocked them as a “fake news blog”.

Abela recently claimed that some ministers have been subjected to magisterial inquiries because of allegations in a “fake news blog, the Shift News, which specialises in reporting falsehoods”.

The Prime Minister went on to say that “90% of what they report contains falsehoods”.

Muscat said that it is inconceivable for the Prime Minister of an EU member state to attempt to discredit independent media and “blame them for the scandals exposed rather than the perpetrators”.

“Clearly aimed at shutting down the exposure of the government’s wrongdoing, Abela has now shifted his attention to silencing those journalists revealing government corruption,” she said.

“Abela said The Shift is responsible for a lineup of ministers and public servants facing criminal charges. So, how is 90% of what we report false?”