MILLIONS of first-time voters are expected to be targets of disinformation through hate speech, clickbait, and allusions to political and foreign interference during an election, a think tank revealed.

Asia Centre, in a report released yesterday, said high internet connectivity makes youth vulnerable to political disinformation.

There will be 1.2 million new voters ages 18 to 20 in the upcoming election, following the constitutional amendments in 2019 to lower the minimum voting age to 18.

In Youth and Disinformation in Malaysia: Strengthening Electoral Integrity, Asia Centre said there are more than 500,000 youths ages 15 to 19 in Selangor, followed by Sabah (353,208) and Johor (345,719).

According to the research institute, disinformation is deliberately created to harm a person, social group, organisation or country, unlike misinformation which contain false information.

Its regional director James Gomez urged Malaysians to be wary of falsehoods related to sexual orientation and promiscuity, corruption, electoral integrity, female politicians, and foreign interference.

“We can expect that these same types of disinformation will be deployed during the general election, and we recommend all Malaysians to be careful about information related to these specific topics,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gomez called the Election Commission to establish an election fact-checking mechanism to debunk false news.

“There should be one source of truth that Malaysians can use to verify online information.

“Political parties must also stop spreading malicious allegations about political opponents by deploying fake news or disinformation and cease politicising religion, which may lead to social exclusion and polarisation,” he added.

More recently, Gomez said, the March 2022 elections in Johor unearthed a series of disinformation campaigns that were related to corruption, electoral integrity and female politicians.

Gomez included several news reports that went viral including the purported press release circulated online saying that PLUS, an expressway concessionaire, offered 50% off on tolls for all highway users who return to Johor to cast their votes.

“The March 2022 elections Johor have come under the spotlight because many anticipated it to be an example of how the next general election will play out.

“It was also the first major election where people from 18 years of age voted. Using the lens of recurring patterns of disinformation provides a perspective to see ahead into the next election,” Gomez said.

“It was marred with disinformation: from the fake letter by the MCA president, to a tweet alleging Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman owned a bungalow, to a Twitter post that went viral claiming that the Ministry of Health recommended senior citizens do not vote in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19 among seniors,” he said.

BN secured a landslide victory in the Johor elections, winning 40 out of 56 seats in the assembly. – September 9, 2022.