D I S I N F O R M AT I ON

TRENDS IN
SOUTHEAST ASIA
CO M PAR AT I V E CA S E S T U D I E S ON I N D ON E S I A , M YAN M AR ,
AN D T H E P H I L I P P I N E S

Emy Ruth D. Gianan | Polytechnic University of the Philippines

8th International Conference on Southeast Asia (ICONSEA) 2019
University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | December 2-3, 2019
W H AT A R E T H E FA C T O R S
T H AT P R O M O T E A
C U LT U R E O F
DEMOCRACY IN
SOUTHEAST ASIA AMID
AN INCREASING
RELIANCE TO NICT FOR
I N F O R M AT I O N A N D
SHAPING PUBLIC
OPINION?
OUTLINE
D I G I TA L D I V I D E S & B A D I D E A S

C A S E S T U D I E S : M YA N M A R ,
INDONESIA, & THE PHILIPPINES

D I S I N F O R M AT I O N T R E N D S &
A P P R O A C H E S : LO C A L & R E G I O N A L
EFFORTS
L I T E R AT U R E R E V I E W

• SEA has a distinct culture of democracy. They believe in its tenets by

demanding free and fair elections, accountable and responsive
governments, and pushing the envelope for greater rooms for dissent and
expression.

• But amid these, there remains elements that undermine its

democratization process. Often, dissenting opinion and street protests lead
to state crackdown, and journalists who expose corrupt practices and
militant leaders who decry various forms of inequalities are either jailed or
fatally wounded.

• Strong governments see these forms of dissent as direct challenges to

their leadership and authority; and as such, sowing fear through large-scale
show of force to restore order and legitimacy of the regime (Kane et al
2008).
L I T E R AT U R E R E V I E W

• Social media platforms broke away from its initial purpose of becoming a
private social network, exclusive to family, friends and colleagues.

• Kushin and Kitchener (2009) saw the potential of social media platforms
to launch socio-political discussions, engage in political debates, and even
work together on certain common advocacies or causes. Their study
highlighted that while socio-political discussions have already been
happening in the internet, social media platforms created greater spaces
for these discourses to flourish given the “decreasing cost of internet
access… larger populations and new participants into the foray of online
political discussion.”

• However, one also has to contend with two glaring issues with regard to
NICT & social media use: growing digital divides and disinformation.
CA S E S T U D I E S

M YAN M AR : FAC E B O O K ’ S
CON T R I B U T I ON TO
D I S I N F O R M AT I ON , H AT E S P E E C H ,
AN D E T H N I C C L E AN S I N G

T H E P H I L I P P I N E S : I N N O VAT I V E
AN D “ I N S I D I O U S ” WAYS TO
S P R E AD D I S I N F O R M AT I ON

I N D ON E S I A : E X P LO I TAT I ON
T H RO U G H “ B E R I TA H OAX ” AN D
FA KE T W I T T E R AC CO U N T
FAC TO R I E S
M YAN M AR
In 2013, the administration broke the state
monopoly on telecommunications. Prices of
phones and SIM cards dropped drastically,
pushing people to buy units. 38% of the
population see FB as main source of news.

There’s an existing tension between the

Buddhist majority and Muslim minority in
Myanmar. The offline tensions transferred
online, given the increasing hate speech
against Rohingya minority in FB.

Online hate transcended towards offline

violence. In 2017, attacks on both camps
(Rohingya vs. government forces) were
launched. State-sponsored clearance
operations saw 25,000 Rohingyas killed
and 700,000 more displaced.
THE PHILIPPINES

Social media platforms were weaponised

during the 2012 elections. This became
more apparent in 2016, which ushered the
victory of Rodrigo Duterte.

Keyboard armies are not only confined to

Duterte supporters. Other politicians hire
their own online team to deliver messages
skewed towards vested interests. These are
called ARCHITECTS OF NETWORKED
DISINFORMATION.

Disinformation is largely attributed to the

government. But it is also a product of the
deep-seated frustrations of ordinary
Filipinos from democratic institutions and
their reliance to social media for news and
information.
I N D ON E S I A

Facebook IS the internet. People flock to it

to get news and other information.

Fake news factories sprouted in 2017, during

the run-up for gubernatorial elections in
Jakarta. Saracen was identified as the
company that peddled BERITA HOAX
through buzzer teams given target contents.

Disinformation is deep-seated as people do

not trust mainstream media. Sources of
information come from personal ties, and
school curricula were revised to remove
media literacy in favour of nationalist-
themed subjects.
F I N D I N G S : CO M M ON D I S I N F O R M AT I ON
TRENDS

FINDING 1: GLARING DIGITAL DIVIDE

MYR PHL INDO
Transparent access to
information and internet
freedom has been X X
repressed for a long time

Sudden surge of NICT

users; increase in internet X X
penetration

Facebook as the internet or

main source of news and X X X
information

Poor internet infrastructure,

slow connections, access is
relatively concentrated to X X X
urban areas and educated
classes
F I N D I N G S : CO M M ON D I S I N F O R M AT I ON
TRENDS

FINDING 2: INCOME INEQUALITIES AS EXPLOITATIVE

OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE DISINFORMATION INDUSTRY
MYR PHL INDO

People see the

disinformation industry as
job opportunities, profit- X X
seeking vehicle

Disinformation is
networked, hierarchized, X X X
and organized
F I N D I N G S : CO M M ON D I S I N F O R M AT I ON
TRENDS

FINDING 3: DEEP-SEATED NARRATIVES SERVE AS BASES

FOR DISINFORMATION
MYR PHL INDO
Personal ties are reliable
sources of information
versus “official” information X X X
streams

Mistrust for mainstream

media X X X
Mistrust for government,
source of disinformation,
doesn’t listen to public X X X
clamour

Offline tensions are

translated into online X X X
tensions
CO M M ON A P P ROAC H E S AG A I N S T
D I S I N F O R M AT I ON
G O V E RN M E N T- D R I V E N A P P ROAC H E S
Censorship, cybercrime legislations // creation of special
bodies and units // government-managed or sponsored
mouthpiece/s // government crackdown

E F F O R T S F RO M T H E P R I VAT E S E C TO R
Social media company policies // mainstream media
company policies // efforts from academic institutions,
think tanks & research groups // civil society campaigns

P O S S I B L E I N N O VAT I V E S O L U T I ON S
Comprehensive studies, approaches or policies to
understand disinformation’s political economy // media
literacy activities // fact-checking & news verification
R E G I ON A L E F F O RT S
AG A I N S T
D I S I N F O R M AT I ON

C R E AT I ON O F A N E T W O R K O F
I N D E P E N D E N T AN D R E L I A B L E
N E W S AN D I N F O R M AT I ON
S O U R C E S AC RO S S S O U T H E A S T
ASIA

R E G I ON - W I D E S T U D I E S ON
D I S I N F O R M AT I ON
PART I C U L AR LY F L E S H I N G O U T
T R E N D S AN D CO M M ON I S S U E S ,
A S W E L L A S CO M PAR I S ON O F
A P P ROAC H E S B E B RO U G H T TO
A L AR G E R AU D I E N C E
TERIMA KASIH!