WITH less funds at its disposal than the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), Pakatan Harapan is realistic about its communications reach ahead of the 14th general election.

It will also need a targeted approach as it faces a proposed anti-fake news law it believes will be biased against the opposition, its leaders said.

Social media sites are used extensively to campaign for both sides of the political divide, especially so with the opposition, which has little to no access to mainstream news outlets.

While the opposition had a head start on social media communication, BN has since caught up with its social media election machinery using platforms like Facebook and social messaging apps to post positive news of the federal administration, its policies and leaders, while its supporters and cybertroopers attack Pakatan Harapan and its leaders online.

Like PH, BN also posts press conferences, forums, dialogues and other programmes online.

But the political cyberwar is set to be biased with the introduction of a proposed anti-fake news law, says the opposition who are claiming the new legislation may be used to block news critical of BN.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has also proposed to increase the fine for spreading fake news to RM500,000 and 10 years’ imprisonment.

“The fake news bill is a not very well masked attempt to clamp down on the opposition’s social media campaign,” said DAP’s national publicity secretary Tony Pua.

“For example, our campaign image says ‘1MDB money was stolen’, but to the MCMC this may just constitute ‘fake news’, even if it is a fact proven in courts all over the world,” he said.

Fahmi Fadzil, PKR’s communications director, said his party was worried the law will be selectively used on the government’s political enemies.

“The issue is what is defined as fake news, as opposed to false information. News should refer to materials published by the online and printed media, not false information spread via social media.

“If we look at court case records, then Utusan Malaysia should be among the media companies most likely to be affected by this new law,” he said of the BN-controlled Malay-language daily.

Fighting smart

The opposition is keenly aware of the odds stacked against it when it comes to communicating its agenda and its version of the truth to the masses.

“In fact, we are often the ones victimised by fake news and false infographics,” Fahmi told The Malaysian Insight.

Pua said the opposition’s approach to disseminating election campaign materials must therefore be very targeted and must resonate with the people.

He said PH was no match for BN’s coffers which were “loaded with tens of millions of ringgit”, allowing the ruling coalition to spend big on advertisements.

“PH does not have no such deep pockets,” said Pua.

“Our challenges are making every ringgit run the extra mile and ensuring our campaign reaches the intended voter segments. We cannot reach everyone,” he said.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP said a lot of planning went into making effective online and offline campaign materials.

“If they don’t (reach the audience), it won’t work no matter how much you spend to make and promote the content,” he said.

“If the content has appeal, social media users will help you share the messages,” Pua said. – March 20, 2018.