3-4-2024 (JAKARTA) As artificial intelligence (AI) technology continues to advance, Southeast Asian nations must enhance their fact-checking abilities and media literacy to combat the rising tide of disinformation, a recent study has warned. Commemorating International Fact-Checking Day on April 2nd, the report from the Safer Internet Lab – an initiative by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Google – highlights the parallel rise of disinformation in Southeast Asia with the ever-evolving technological landscape, including AI.
Titled “Regional and Cross-Border Responses Towards Disinformation in Southeast Asia,” the study presents numerous instances of “coordinated disinformation campaigns” that have plagued Indonesia and its neighbouring countries in recent years. Social media platforms, the report finds, have played a pivotal role in the dissemination of fake news across the region, particularly during election cycles, when platforms like Facebook, X, and TikTok became significant instruments in political campaigns.
In Indonesia, the report notes, “buzzers” – paid political influencers – are well-known actors in the spread of disinformation, while in the Philippines, it is commonly “trolls” who propagate fake news. The problem in Thailand, meanwhile, is exacerbated by influence operations (IOs).
The advent of AI has further compounded the issue, as the report reveals that free online tools for creating basic AI-generated videos resembling a person’s likeness, or deepfakes, have become increasingly commonplace. Indonesia’s 2024 election season was disrupted by the circulation of a hyper-realistic, AI-manipulated video depicting President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo fluently speaking Mandarin before it was debunked. Shortly thereafter, an AI-edited video of defence minister and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto delivering a speech in Arabic also went viral on social media.
“However, the forms of disinformation get increasingly diverse, making it more difficult to identify [the hoaxes], not to mention the use of AI [more recently],” Usman Kansong, the Information and Public Communication Director General of the Communications and Information Ministry, stated during the report’s launch last Thursday. He added that while the ministry recorded 714 hoaxes spreading from 2018 to 2019, the number decreased to 204 during the current election cycle, from January 2023 to January 2024.
Singapore, too, experienced a similar AI incident last year when a deep-faked video of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong advocating a cryptocurrency scheme went viral.
Despite efforts from governments in Southeast Asia to address disinformation, the study concludes that a “multi-faceted approach” is necessary to tackle the issue effectively. It recommends policies for governments based on an ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information (AMRI) meeting in September of last year, which include promoting media literacy and implementing legal and regulatory measures.
The study also suggests that digital platforms bolster their fact-checking abilities and collaborate with outside parties to monitor the content on their platforms more effectively.
While several fact-checking organizations have emerged in some Southeast Asian countries, CSIS researcher Fitriani, who contributed to the study, noted the need to make fact-checking “sustainable” in the future as technology continues to evolve. “To what extent is fact-checking effective, and who fact-checks the fact-checker? We need to come up with a solution for these questions,” she said.
Media literacy is also a pressing concern, as the report states that low- and middle-income countries are more prone to disinformation due to relatively lower levels of education and literacy.
These issues call for collaborative efforts between Southeast Asian countries, as the report finds that disinformation “does not recognize borders” and that its campaigns may originate domestically or abroad. “It is time for Southeast Asian countries to work together and strengthen the trust of the people in the region,” Usman added.
Several countries, such as Malaysia, have bolstered their fact-checking websites, digital literacy programs, and content supervision with the help of the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission. The Philippines government has also started integrating media and information literacy as a core subject in the curriculum for primary and secondary schools in 2023.
