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Concerns over the dissemination of fake and provocative news online, were at the centre of the electoral process in Malaysia during its recently conducted 15th general election last month.
Besides the dissemination of misinformation, social media platforms were used by top politicians in the country to help boost their political campaigns. Malaysian voters were influenced by the political parties extensively through Tik Tok and other social media platforms, which produced videos and recruited social media influencers to target the young base who was its frequent users, The Singapore Post reported. There were six million new voters, including over 1.2 million 18- to 21-year-olds who were newly eligible after a law lowering the voting age, the report added. Malaysian political parties have often been supportive of Chinese state narratives and repeated them to local audiences as Malaysia is home to a large Chinese diaspora and Chinese-language media landscape. Malaysia has been the epicentre of a couple of major Chinese-language disinformation campaigns likely orchestrated by either Beijing or its political allies, according to The Singapore Post. In a statement, spokesperson of Tik Tok, a video-sharing social networking service said it has zero tolerance against any form of hate speech and violent extremism and this extends to branded content. "Our branded content policy makes it clear that all branded content must comply with our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service," the company said in a recent statement, addressing branded content, especially by politicians. TikTok spokesperson said that community guidelines apply to everyone who uses the platform, including politicians and political accounts. "Since the lead up to the elections, we have been in constant communication with the relevant bodies, including the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), about accounts that are involved in severe or repeated on-platform violations," the company spokesperson added. (ANI)
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