THE competition among multi-party coalitions and the ineffectiveness of current anti-disinformation measures will see youth and other voters subjected to intense disinformation in the upcoming general election (GE15) in Malaysia.
Disinformation is defined as information that is false and deliberately created to harm a person, social group, organisation or country. There are four categories of disinformation including click-bait, hate speech, political, and foreign interference. Asia Centre, a research institute in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, in its latest 2022 report “Youth and Disinformation in Malaysia: Strengthening Electoral Integrity”, identifies the five types of political disinformation that will feature in GE15.
Drawn from a review of 5 past Malaysian general elections held between 1999-2018, key falsehoods related to sexual orientation and promiscuity; corruption; electoral integrity; women politicians and foreign interference are types of disinformation to look out for in GE15. These falsehoods are expected to be widely deployed in the run-up to, during and post-elections in Malaysia to influence voter behaviour and undermine electoral integrity.
First is disinformation related to sexual orientation and promiscuity. This falsehood will accuse politicians of having same-sex or extramarital relationships. It is an effective tool to undermine politicians’ reputation by calling into question his or her religious piety. This sort of disinformation tends to stay in mind of voters and may be followed by legal prosecution.
Second is fake news of corruption. Given the ongoing legal cases, false corruption allegations are expected to be widely deployed in the run-up to, during and post-elections to discredit political rivals. Corruption allegations can influence voters away from politicians or political parties who are depicted as “stealing” money from the people who are enduring hardships.
Third is false information that directly targets the integrity of the electoral system and the conduct of elections. Such fake news can range from depicting the electoral system as favouring particular racial or religious communities, ridiculing politicians, falsifying the locations of campaign rallies, discrediting the Election Commission or alluding to the presence of local and foreign phantom voters.
Fourth is disinformation surrounding misogyny and gender stereotypes. It involves circulating false narratives that paint selected women politicians as overly sexual, untrustworthy, weak and unintelligent. In Malaysia, tarnishing the reputation of women politicians is a common tactic and they are disproportionately affected by political disinformation. Disinformation is exploited to harass women candidates with aims of driving women away from meaningful political participation.
The fifth is disinformation on foreign interference. This is an attempt to link a politician with countries or political groups that are considered a “national enemy”. It traditionally included the “West” (including Western allies such as Israel), but also included terrorist groups in the following years after the 9/11 attack. More recently, disinformation has revolved around uncovering Chinese interests in Malaysian politics. Malaysian politicians employ disinformation to accuse each other of their supposed connection with foreign governments.
Actors behind disinformation initiatives
However, political disinformation does not sit in a vacuum. Asia Centre, through its consultation with Malaysian respondents identified three sets of actors who initiate, strategise and run the disinformation campaigns to manipulate voter behaviours during Malaysian elections.
The first set at the top are government agencies, political parties or campaign managers who initiate disinformation campaigns to dispel criticism, discredit the opposition, and manipulate information flow and public opinion. The second set at the middle level are local and foreign based PR or consulting firms, content companies, private contractors, civil society organisations and government-friendly media. These actors work to strategise disinformation campaigns and produce political content and relevant graphics before passing down to the beneath level. The third set at the bottom includes hardliners, bots and paid or voluntary cyber troopers who run disinformation campaigns.
Given that political disinformation is likely to feature prominently in Malaysia’s 15th general election, and the run-up time to the polls is relatively short or almost immediate, Asia Centre has some priority recommendations to address the situation in the short term.
Recommendations to improve situation
The Election Commission should update rules or regulations to combat disinformation campaigns and ensure that voters can cast their meaningful votes.
Political parties should run political campaigns with accurate and verified content and stop mudslinging political rivals by deploying fake news or disinformation.
Technology companies should be provocative in combating disinformation on their platforms by flagging false information and removing or taking down false information that potentially misleads voters.
In the medium to long term, the centre’s recommendation is, should the government introduce or amend any law that criminalises disinformation, that it should be compatible with international standards and refrain from curbing freedom of expression.
Educational institutions should include digital literacy in the basic curriculum to ensure all students stay safe online and foster principles of democracy, human rights and elections in schools.
There should be cross-sector collaboration with relevant government agencies, the Election Commission, technology companies, universities, think tanks and NGOs to monitor, tackle disinformation and support the research and development of appropriate solutions to disinformation.
If these recommendations are adopted, it will help uphold Malaysia’s electoral integrity and allow all first-time youth and other voters to cast their vote meaningfully. – The Vibes, September 7, 2022
James Gomez is regional director of the Asia Centre. This commentary is based on the centre’s latest report ‘Youth and Disinformation in Malaysia: Strengthening Electoral Integrity’ which will be launched tomorrow.