EMPOWERING THE YOUTH FOR A BETTER FUTURE (EYAF)

Virtual Summit 2022

ASEAN YOUTH FORUM

VIETNAM COUNTRY REPORT

Delegate(s) Involved:

Ivanatasha Binti Abdul Majid

Jesse Colonia
Nikki Leoniza Abarientos
Oanh Hoang
Reshigaashiniy A/P A Baskaran
Sithu Moe

Country:

Vietnam
Malaysia
Myanmar
Philippines

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 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY REPORT

ASEAN Community Pillar: Environmental Community

Core-Issue under the Pillar: Environmental Relation: Haze and Pollution

Introduction
Technology has improved our lives in recent years. People's living standards
are rising, especially in the city. But they are unaware of our existence. By the time
we pursue a beautiful and wealthy existence, the planet has been devastated. Haze
and pollution is one of the menacing problems that every country is facing right now
and this is the most important environmental issue that has been for quite some
time, and it is nothing new to everyone. As today's individuals mindlessly seek their
own riches and material enjoyment, this situation has become increasingly serious,
burdening our sickly planet. Industries are sprouting up everywhere in today's
competitive environment. The billowing smoke is emitted when the processes have
been completed with excellent efficiency. The smoke is released by the majority of
factories.They cannot filter it since their smokestack tubes lack a smoke filtration
device. Factory workers simply let poisonous smoke into the outside air to save
money. Air pollution has two primary effects: a concern of human health. Air that is
unclean or even toxic can cause health problems including asthma and other
common breathing issues.
Air pollution is a serious problem in Vietnam. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City,
the country's two largest cities, are currently among Southeast Asia's top 15 most
polluted. The most dangerous contaminant in Vietnam's air is fine particulate matter
(PM2.5). Only eight days in 2019 in Hanoi had PM2.5 levels below the 50
micrograms per cubic metre (g/m3) national threshold. With only 36 days below the
norm, the air quality in Ho Chi Minh City was not much better. Over ten million
individuals in these cities breathed highly contaminated air for the remainder of the
year. Poor urban planning is exacerbating Vietnam's transportation problems.
Thousands of people living in mushrooming high-rise structures in city centres puts
immense strain on an already overburdened traffic system. Except for the
yet-to-be-comfortable bus fleet, no mass transit networks exist. In Vietnam's major
cities, open and green space is seen as a luxury. Finer particles are more dangerous to
human health because they can penetrate deep into the lungs and cardiovascular
system, causing disorders such as stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, and respiratory infections. In Vietnam, air pollution
was responsible for up to 60,000 deaths in 2016. Poor air quality affects life
expectancy by one year on average and costs the country around 5% of GDP per year.

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 Some other issue is the dust from building sites, both commercial and
residential. Dust storms are created by thousands of construction sites filled with
trucks laden with sand and cement. Air pollution is exacerbated by old industrial
sites within cities, as well as air polluting facilities like coal power plants and cement
and steel mills. Hundreds of thousands of city people use solid biomass cooking
stoves, and the burning of rice fields after harvest in Hanoi's peri-urban districts
contributes considerably to air pollution, especially during the dry season, which
runs from October to February. This report aims to strengthen and inform people not
just in our country Vietnam but also going beyond the boundaries that everyone will
benefit.

Body
Haze and pollution is everywhere, whether you are inside in your house or in
the hospital. No one can stop alone in just a day. That is why short-term remedies
have been identified by environmental authorities. Stricter laws on new car emission
standards, improved traffic control, enforcement of dust management measures for
construction sites and hauling vehicles, expanded monitoring of industrial emissions,
and city-wide prohibitions on the use of charcoal stoves are just a few examples.
While these solutions may assist to reduce pollution in Vietnam, long-term national
strategies are required.
First, bettering and enforcing urban management might significantly reduce
air pollution. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City both contain a lot of high-rise structures
that require additional open and green space. Government offices, colleges, and
hospitals, which are densely populated, might be transferred outside of cities. The
Rang Dong Light Bulb Factory, for example, might be relocated to decrease
dangerous air emissions. The completion of existing mass transport networks,
followed by the creation of new lines, is also critical. Green building regulations and
feed-in tariffs may help to encourage the construction of energy-efficient and
solar-powered structures.
Second, legislation encouraging the use of environmentally friendly
automobiles may help to minimize pollution. Subsidies for trading in old
automobiles, compensated for by increased taxes on new vehicles, might stimulate
the phase-out of outmoded and polluting vehicles. Because owners of vintage
automobiles tend to be from lower-income households, this would help address
concerns about distributional effects. The government might also enact laws to
encourage the use of electric cars (EVs), such as permitting only EVs in downtown
areas and providing EV makers with a tax break to make them more cheap.

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 Third, considering the polluter needs to pay concept, pollutant pricing would
be acceptable. The environmental protection tax law might be changed to properly
target polluting fuels like diesel and coal. Carbon pricing would encourage a
low-carbon economy by reducing the use and production of carbon-based products.
This will help to reduce air pollution and climate change, both of which are threats to
Vietnam's economic and social stability.
Fourth, a seamless and effective conversion to renewable sources would aid in
the reduction of pollution and climate change. Enabling policies for solar and wind
energy, such as feed-in tariffs and reverse bidding, would keep up the pace of a
recent renewable energy boom that has made Vietnam the top country in Southeast
Asia for solar power installation. Given its strong potential for solar, wind, and
off-river pumped hydropower, Vietnam might set more aggressive renewable energy
objectives. Finally, reforming fossil fuel subsidies might reduce the use of polluting
fuels and spare up the present yearly fossil fuel subsidy of US$ 612 million, or 0.3
percent of Vietnam's GDP, for other social programs including health, education, and
environmental regulation.

Conclusion
Therefore all the mentioned short-term remedy above is nothing without the
cooperation of the people. Each one of us has a great role in making this vision into
reality and this can not be done only by those people in authority. You need to act, we
need to act as one. Since pollution has serious consequences for human health, the
ecosystem, and even the operation of some Earth systems, such as the climate.
Pollution affects every corner of the globe. It has an impact on our health by
contaminating the food we consume, the water we drink, and the air we breathe.
Breathing clean air helps to reduce the risk of stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and
chronic and acute respiratory disorders like asthma. Long-term and short-term,
lower levels of air pollution are better for heart and respiratory health. Climate
change will have an impact on people all around the world, including access to water,
food production, health, and the environment. As the world heats, hundreds of
millions of people may face starvation, water shortages, and coastal floods.

Reflection
Nature can live without us but we humans can’t live without nature. As the
highest and smartest being it is our responsibility to protect the environment. Years
ago I personally witnessed and felt the wrath of nature resulting in damage to
properties and the worst happened is losing loved ones. Our safe and secure house
will be inundated. Our water supply will be depleted. Because of the rising heat, our

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crops will be unable to grow. As deforestation continues, our oxygen supply will be
restricted. Climate change is a fact of life, and denying it is an act of complete
ignorance and cruelty toward our environment and ourselves. Humanity has had
tremendous accomplishments throughout history, but we are currently seeing what
may be its greatest failure. We are on the verge of a cataclysmic extinction. What's
worse, we only have a few years to remedy our errors. To quote Mr. Barack Obama,
“We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last one that
can do something about it.”
We need to make people aware of the situation. Our future is jeopardised. If
we do not act quickly, we will soon be following in the footsteps of countless other
species that have perished. Environmental protection requires laws, not
corporations. We have fewer than eight and a half years to keep global temperatures
from rising over 1.5 degrees Celsius, but the political willpower necessary to achieve
such goals is lacking. Reform is needed at this point; it must be carried about in some
way. So, to all those who believe climate change is a conspiracy or that it isn't as
serious as it appears, I say, if you choose to ignore climate change, you are choosing
extinction. Let's turn our micro-projects into macro-effects.

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 ECONOMIC COMMUNITY

ASEAN Community Pillar: Economic Community.

Core-Issue under the Pillar: Sustainable Community: Zero Poverty

Introduction
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has always honored with ASEAN since
Vietnam’s membership launched in 1995. In 1996, Vietnam joined ASEAN Free
Trade Area looking forward to country and regional economic development. ASEAN
integration has always marked a part of Vietnam’s initial step to Global Economic.
Since Vietnam has stressed the development and increase for broader integration
with various international partners, not just only with ASEAN.
Regarding Vietnam's economic developmental changes, it still needs to tackle
the challenges and weaknesses inherent in socio-economic structure, in order to
diminish economic disparity between Vietnam and its more advanced partners,
otherwise Vietnam may not fully benefit from the global market, especially in the
community like ASEAN Economic Community. Throughout the decades of struggling
with various strategies, Vietnam’s poverty rate declined rapidly along with the
country and regional economic development. Anyhow, as of 2019 data, Vietnam was
the 13th most populous country with over 95 million population, 9.8 percent are still
in poverty, around 9 million people in absolute terms. Ethnic minority people
account for 14.6 percent of Vietnam’s population but the poor households in their
communities make up 52.7 percent of all poor families nationwide. Moreso, with the
numerous controversial internal infrastructures, poverty has been seen as a rural
phenomenon in Vietnam and now, along with rapid urbanisation, urban poverty has
been becoming a considerable issue in Vietnam, too. The Government of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam has witnessed that ASEAN FrameWorks, and Economic
Integration has been vitally playing Vietnam’s infrastructures on poverty reduction
and we would like to address this issue to be our regional concern.

Body
Since the launch of 1986 Doi Moi (renovation, Vietnam has broadened the
country's economy in foreign trade and investment. With the country's various action
plans, the economy has proven resilient through different crises, the latest being
COVID-19. Vietnam was one of only a few countries to post GDP growth in 2020
when the pandemic hit. (World Bank, 2022) However, there are challenges being
confronted by our government such as in ethnic discrimination, inequal education,
deteriorating infrastructure and weak domestic private sector in the economy

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threaten its growth and stand as the remaining causes of poverty in Vietnam.
(Trosclair, 2017)
Factors that characterised the poor include large size of household, low
education and skills, dependency on agriculture, remoteness in rural mountainous
areas, lack of supporting infrastructure (UNDP 2018).Among all the challenges, the
Delegation of Vietnam would like to address some key points that keeps Vietnamese
vulnerable group, rural poverty people rather. Initially, illiteracy and lack of
education in rural mountainous are to be pointed out. In 2015, the number of ethnic
minority population aged 15 and above, who cannot read and write, was 20.8%, four
times higher than the national average of about 5.3% (Phamet al. 2018). Various
state and non-state studies had already stated that the dropout rate at secondary
schools are higher for students in communes at farther distance to district centre
(Badiani 2013). Due to geographical inconveniences, secondary schools in
mountainous areas, also along with insufficient amounts, are mostly located in far
places where students have difficulties dealing with school each day from home.
Moreso, children from that place at school ages are also unprovided with proper
tutoring. In the Vietnamese education system, tutoring is so central for academic
achievement that it is a significant factor contributing to a student's performance,
even after controlling for other household and school characteristics (Le and Nguyen
2016). As they also cannot afford the extra educational costs, poor children are
disadvantaged with education at all.
The delegate of Vietnam would like to suggest all the student leaders across
the region to concern with this critical issue. Equipping those children from rural
areas with appropriate education, at least secondary education, can diminish the rate
of illiteracy and the number of child labour, and underage workers. Initiating
voluntary and philanthropic educational platforms, not only by Vietnamese, but also
international language and vocational programmes, can raise the livelihoods
standard of rural mountainous people, gradually decreasing a part of the poverty
community in the future. In fact, if more children at school age from poverty
communities become educated, they will get proper work with reasonable salary and
more opportunities as consequences. The more ways to exit from being in the
poverty circle, the more people were given a chance to eliminate the poverty crisis.
The roles of youth across the bloc are pivotal as they can reach these rural places and
be a part of initiators for changes in those regions.
Furthermore, as young students, we believed that poverty could be stopped
not just only with the organisations and members of the society who are engaging in
campaigns and taking steps in minimising poverty but also with the help of the
government, we can eradicate this problem. We would like to suggest more factors

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that would be a great help in reducing poverty. A good initiative to point out is
creating livelihood programs for unprivileged families. In this way, they can earn a
living to provide the daily needs of their families. By implementing this program, we
are encouraging people to work hard to earn a living. Follow-up suggestion is to
increase the number of organisations and members working to alleviate poverty by
providing more strong wage jobs. About 2.8 million more non-agriculture jobs,
including 1.8 million wage jobs, were added between 2016 and 2018 (World Bank,
2022). Most of the new opportunities were in urban areas, resulting in a reallocation
of labour from agriculture to the manufacturing, construction, and service sectors.
This, combined with rising rural wages in all sectors, significantly raised wage
incomes. This provides a great impact to promote and to enforce these activities for
poor families. We encourage everyone to help those who are in need. Simple acts will
do and it means a lot. We have to educate children, provide clean water, ensure basic
health care, empower a girl or woman, improve childhood nutrition, support
environmental programs, reach children in conflict and of course prevent child
marriage.
To eradicate poverty, we need to leave no one behind. We are all in this
together! No matter what challenges we may face, we need to reach out to those who
are in need. Let us not wait for people who will ask for our help, instead let us lend
our hands and our hearts to help them in anything that we can do. Small or big acts
can make a big difference in their lives. Reducing inequalities, discrimination, and
minimizing poverty is necessary if all of us will cooperate and be united in fighting
this battle.

Conclusion
In summary, ASEAN integration has played a key role in Vietnam’s
international economic integration process especially in eliminating the challenges.
Vietnam also commits to end all forms of poverty in the country and is strongest
willing to contribute its experience to the regional bloc too. The government will
ensure that the objectives set out for the Programme will be achieved, with a
particular focus on sustainable poverty reduction for vulnerable groups, ethnic
minorities, people with disabilities, and women and children. More so, Vietnam also
calls ASEAN integration on advanced technical support and developments as it is
pivotal in the modern economy. Vietnam would like to advocate for the recent ATIGA
electronic Certificate of Origin (ATIGA e-Form D) through ASEAN Single Window
which is a regional electronic platform that promotes ASEAN economic integration
by enabling the electronic exchange of border trade-related documents among
member states. With this new development, business holders now can exchange

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customs documentation through the ASW platform, expediting cargo clearance and
reducing paperwork. This boosts regional trade efficiency and competitiveness for
inclusive economic growth. Addressing the issue, we need to put in our minds that
poverty is just a challenge and some people are willing to take risks to eradicate this
problem. Let us work hand in hand and show kindness. Donating and giving a small
amount of food, clothes, and money to poor people can help them feel that they are
not alone in this battle. They have people who they can lean on and feel important in
this world.

Reflection
Despite being struck down by the pandemic, Vietnam has addressed its stand
as one of the strongest nations in economic aspects. The group was astonished to
know that Vietnam remained resilient and expanded its growth rate in 2020, the
peak of the pandemic. This has made the group realise that Vietnam is a determined
country, aligned with all other sister countries of the ASEAN community. An
economically strong nation can sustain and progress further in the future by
maintaining and improving its strategies and connections with partner countries. It
is up to the next generation, the student leaders, to make this a reality.

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 SOCIO-CULTURAL COMMUNITY

ASEAN Community Pillar: Socio-Cultural Community.

Core-Issue under the Pillar: Education: Online Modality

Introduction
Online modality in Viet Nam has impetuously created a digital transformation
for the education system amidst the pandemic. However, it is still a main issue that is
negatively impacting the education system. Children have been experiencing an
overwhelming increase of anxiety, stress and depression (UNICEF, 2020). With
school closures and being confined within four walls, children’s lifestyle and daily
routines are disrupted, making them easier to get psychologically challenged. Some
students were concerned about the upcoming national exams due to online learning
that were to take place in the year. Children with disabilities, ethnic minority family
issues, immigrants and those living in poverty are likely to be made more vulnerable
in receiving quality education. Students who are situated in remote, mountainous
areas experience lack of internet connectivity, making it difficult for them to continue
their online learning.
The first issue that can be addressed through this pillar is the quality of
learning during the pandemic. UNICEF (2021) recorded that all online learning
modalities had posed different challenges for students and teachers. 93% of the
teachers who were from rural and less-convenient areas were not well prepared for
the drastic change from face-to-face learning to distanced learning. This had led the
teachers in issuing that they were not familiar with modern technologies in the
classroom, making it difficult for them to conduct classes on a regular basis during
the pandemic breakout. Students from poor family backgrounds, rural and
mountainous areas were not able to learn effectively during the pandemic as they
were not well-versed with technology and could not afford them.
The second issue that can be addressed through this pillar is the students
mental health. During the pandemic, students were in the comfort of their homes
and learning through online initiatives such as communal television lectures and
online classes. They were able to enjoy the flexibility of learning from home for a
decent amount of time. However, according to Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2020),
students are to be grown in a robust culture, where they get to interact with their
peers, play and do not know the notion of ‘social distancing’. Since they are deprived
of the social life, they tend to feel overwhelmed with the pressure of not interacting
with their friends and going out to play, they start to get emotionally vulnerable. This

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issue is still widely discussed because post-pandemic school-openings have seen
students’ vulnerability in handling their emotions.

Body
One of the ways to prevent these stated issues from reoccurring is by training
both the student body and teachers to use modern technology that is on par with the
current world (UNICEF, 2021). The pandemic has evidently “forced” us to adapt into
a new normal of living and it is crucial to be up-to-date with the technology that is
vastly moving forward. Training to use modern technology ensures both parties to be
tech-savvy and ready in facing online teaching and learning. Students get to widen
their knowledge and techniques in using technology through training.
Implementation of technology in teaching and learning is an important aspect in 21st
century education. Teachers who are trained in conducting classes with the use of
technology are able to increase students’ attention span and keep them focused in
classrooms. This is because the teacher infuses creativity when using technology to
teach the students (South African Journal of Education, 2013).
Another way is by distributing gadgets to the underprivileged students in
remote areas. During the pandemic, classes were all conducted online and
technology helps to connect them together. According to Nascimento, T.M. and Neto,
L.V. (2020), education has now become a tool dependent on technology and
integrated applications which replace in-person classrooms and make dynamic,
virtual classrooms. This situation has led to families, in-need to be tech-savvy and
financially stable to provide for the students. Here, the authorities, with the help
from education centres, can collect information of students from the underprivileged
society and aid them with sufficient technology.
Moreover, students who face mental health problems can be sent for
professional help to their school counsellors or psychiatrists. They should be
reminded that mental health issues can be recovered and they do not have to worry
about them. Seeking professional help reduces the risk of the students being exposed
to negative ways to cope with the problem, such as drugs and alcohol consumption.
Mental health issues should be talked to people they trust, without any fear of
judgement. Children and adolescents who are overwhelmed by the disease and their
mentality, will need extra care and protection from their loved ones and professional
helpers. The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has coordinated with the
Ministry of Health in focusing on counselling and psychological support, enhancing
interaction and cohesion among the students in schools (Viet Nam News, 2022).

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Conclusion
To conclude, education is a necessity in improving a country’s livelihood and
progress. Education should be made free for all without prejudice. Every child must
be educated to reduce and demolish the gap between the literate and illiterate.
Gadget distribution, technology training, professional counselling, and healthy
lifestyle programs can help in sustaining and improving Viet Nam’s education
system. It is notable that amidst the pandemic, Viet Nam was one of the few
countries that had seen no downfall in academic percentages. This is due to the fact
that there were a number of steps taken in tackling distance-learning situations. In
order to not let the progress dwindle, we need to improve and advance our steps to
implement remote learning as an option in the education system in the near future.

Reflection
This country report has made the group realise that education is an important
sector in the socio-cultural community. It is what shapes a country and we should all
help in sustaining and improving the education system. In Viet Nam, there are many
students and families who have suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic. The
authorities have provided and sent help to everyone in the country to recover from
the tragedy and they are progressing to a better future. However, that progress could
not be achieved through just one individual or sector alone, hence, it is also a
responsibility of the student leaders to help Viet Nam progress through their social
activities.

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 POLITICAL SECURITY COMMUNITY

ASEAN Community Pillar: Political-Security Community.

Core-Issue under the Pillar: Fake News and Misinformation

Introduction
Today, the world is only at our fingertips. Access to information made easy
with only a few clicks away. This digital era has provided a plethora of information
and platforms and almost everyone can find anything easily; the topics covered are
including politics, healthcare, economy, and many others. The world nowadays has
witnessed the uprising of alternative media (social media) alongside with the
mainstream media sources (newspaper, media news, etc). Mainstream media or also
known as news media has been threatened by the existence of alternative media.
Initially, news media is seen as a credible source of information where people can
follow what is happening all around the world including their home countries.
According to Holbert (2005), the main role of news media is to give exposure
of information to citizens. However, social media that is depicted as ‘transparent’
diminishes people’s trust in the news media. Strömbäck et al. (2020) states that
there is a decline in traditional media trust and one of the prominent reasons for this
happening is the tension between alternative and traditional media, in which people
are led to believe that alternative media provides the behind-the-scenes truth while
traditional media is heavily fabricated. The question is, how far can we believe
alternative media? With the emergence of fabricated information that is escalating, is
alternative media really safe from the occurrence of misinformation and fake news?
According to the Handbook for Journalism Education and Training (2018)
published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), the spread of misinformation and fake news has been made possible
primarily through social networks or online platforms. The word misinformation
generally refers to the created misleading information that is ought to disseminate
without malicious and manipulative intent. On the other hand, fake news is defined
as false and misleading information which is in disguise and disseminated in a form
of news. It is straightforwardly and commonly understood as a falsified source that
does not meet the standard on labelling it as news. In other words, it is an oxymoron
which undermines the quality of credible information and does not meet the
threshold of verifiability in serving public interest.
The emergence of internet and social media platforms in Vietnam have
gradually increased from the previous years. According to the Global Data Insights of
the Data Reportal, there were 72.10 million reported internet users in Vietnam last

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January 2022. It has increased by 3.4 million or 4.9 percent from its recorded data
last 2021. Accordingly, approximately 72.69 million Vietnamese have been using
different social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Facebook
Messenger, LinkedIn, and Twitter. These digital media platforms or alternative
media have been gradually changing the process of news production, news
consumption, and dissemination of information.
In Vietnam, fake news and fake information spread like wildfire during the
outbreak of COVID-19 in 2019. Countries all over the world were and are still
combating COVID-19, Vietnam included. Apart from combating it medically by
distributing vaccines and social distancing, public awareness is also crucial in
preventing COVID-19 from spreading extensively. Unfortunately, the rampant
expansion of fake news that is related to the disease has increased anxiety and
concerns of the public (Nguyen et al., 2020). This eventually caused them to blindly
believe whatever information that they saw, watched, and heard on social media.
The findings by an article titled ‘Fake News Affecting the Adherence of
National Response Measures During the COVID-19 Lockdown Period: The
Experience of Vietnam’ are worrying; there were plenty of news and articles with
deformed, distorted, and misleading information leaked to the public. It eventually
attracted millions of views and shares due to the high volume of social media users in
Vietnam in which 64 million Vietnamese use the internet and 58 million of them
possess at least one social media platform. In the article, it is also mentioned that the
authority in Vietnam has confirmed 654 cases of fake news in 2020 alone. Thus, how
does this unfortunate circumstance affect Vietnam in their efforts to combat
COVID-19 and what can be done to resolve it?

Body
Media plays an important role in curbing further outbreak of COVID-19 (Zhou
et al., 2020). It keeps the public updated, aware, and informed. However, media
misuse in Vietnam has defeated the purpose and advantage of the media. In fact, it
has become a national concern in Vietnam to prevent fake news or ‘infodemic’ - a
term coined to describe the overwhelming amount of fake news spread to and by the
public. Infodemic occurred in Vietnam due to the fear and anxiety of the public. Due
to multiple false information relayed to the public, people became frantic and acted
irrationally out of distress. For example, people hurriedly stocked up goods and
supplies such as toilet paper, antibacterial hand wash and wipes, as well as
detergents and this resulted in supply shortages. Meanwhile, pharmacies reported
there was a shortage of medical-grade masks, protective equipment, and many
medical-related supplies. However, the most worrying trend was when people blindly

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followed the alternative suggestions to “cure” COVID-19 by buying over-the-counter
medicines and controlled drugs. As a result, patients who were in dire need of that
particular drug could not have adequate access. This also increased hospitalization
due to drug misuse. Thus, it is clear that fake news and misinformation will terrorize
the public, even risking their lives to certain extent.
One after another, concerns regarding the dissemination of fake news and
misinformation have been escalating. These issues pollute the public sphere and pose
a great threat to journalism and freedom of expression. In order to put an end to this,
media awareness or digital literacy should prevail. There is a need to raise people's
awareness about the harmful effects of fake news as well as illegal acts in creating
and spreading fake news. In fact, except for a part of individuals and organizations
that intentionally create and distribute fake news for financial and political purposes,
the majority of online communities participate in sharing, even in some cases.
creating and spreading false information. That shows that the majority of social
network participants do not fully understand the harmful effects of fake news and
illegal acts in the process of participating in social networks.
The United Nations United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) defined media information literacy as a set of interrelated
qualities that minimize the harm that are prominent within new information
platforms, digital, and communication landscapes. It encompasses the competencies
enabling people to be critically and effectively engage with the information,
investigate various types of content, and discern the use of the existing digital
technologies. According to Adjin-Tettey (2022), people who are digitally literate
exhibit the essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes of an individual who knows how
to obtain credible information. Additionally, it will also enhance the skills on critical
thinking which involves evaluating and verifying information, and utilize it in respect
to ethical standards. Moreover, Koltay (2011) denotes that media literacy and digital
awareness justifies the essential role of information in the development of the
society, cultural participation, and active citizenship. Taking this into consideration,
it plays an integral part in dealing with the emergence of complex issues.
Next, fake news and misinformation have affected public trust be it to the
government or official authorities, including towards one another. The Ministry of
Information and Communications (MIC) on July 23rd issued a document on
intensifying the handling of fake news and untrue information about COVID-19
vaccine on the Internet. Young Vietnamese Americans are desperately trying to
counter social media algorithms and the far-right. YouTube personalities that have
pulled their families into conspiracy theories, strained relationships, and caused
paranoia about the safety of vaccinations. YouTube channels have become ubiquitous

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in some Vietnamese homes. They have spread a range of conspiracy theories
surrounding the pandemic and vaccinations, including lies that people who wear
masks are more likely to contract the disease. Misleading claims about the efficacy of
COVID-19 vaccines and untrue information distorting the Vietnamese Government’s
vaccine distribution policy and the use of the COVID-19 vaccine fund have also been
spreading on social media. The spread of such harmful and ill-intentioned
information has eroded public trust in the pandemic fight, causing public anxiety and
concern, and hindering the country’s anti-pandemic efforts.
Addressing the issues above, there are numerous methods one can employ to
battle misinformation and fake news. It is especially necessary for the Vietnamese
government to handle the spread of incorrect information as quickly as possible, to
prevent public opinion and faith towards authoritative bodies from continuing to
diminish. One way for the government to regain the trust of its people is by
increasing the efforts to stop misinformation through official television broadcasts or
talk shows, focusing on debunking false information that is currently spreading or
ones that have already spread. According to Schwarz, as cited by Abrams (2021),
warning people that a specific piece of information is false and explaining why a
source might be a lie could prevent them from falling victims to misinformation. If
government officials such as the minister of health themself is to personally
spearhead this operation, public opinion towards the government can change, albeit
not instantaneously. The term fake news has been used extensively by the news
media, in social media, and general discussions. In political contexts, calling
something “fake news” is done to distract or discredit officials and to help spread
misinformation. That is why we always need to look for authority, accuracy,
objectivity, and timeliness.

Conclusion
Minimizing the dissemination of fake news and misinformation plays an
integral part in ensuring that the citizens of Vietnam live in peace with one another
and within a harmonious environment. The rampant existence of these issues pose a
threat within the political and security sectors. In this regard, access to credible and
authentic information on the emerging societal issues, particularly on the COVID-19,
should be convenient to within the community. Promoting an awareness of media or
digital literacy is highly considered in diminishing the increasing number of false
information.

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Reflection
The truth does require the involvement of many people, witnesses, and
testimonies, even if the event took place in the private sphere. Traditionally we
received news from trusted sources, journalists and media outlets that are required
to follow strict codes of practice. However, the internet has enabled a whole new way
to publish, share and consume information and news with very little regulation or
editorial standards.
Many people now obtain news from social media sites and networks and often
it can be difficult to tell whether stories are credible or not. Information overload and
a general lack of understanding about how the internet works by people have also
contributed to an increase in fake information. Social media sites can play a big part
in increasing the reach of these types of information. It’s easy to see why fake news is
a problem, but it is harder to identify and prevent it from spreading. As a student,
being able to spot misinformation disguised as legitimate news will enable students
to combat the widespread distribution of harmful, misleading, and false information.
Credible sources must be analysed thoroughly before being shared around as it will
reflect an individual’s characteristic as well.

17
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