POLITICAL speculation and political posturing is becoming rampant in the country, especially on social media, with most political parties feeding the frenzy. 

On social media platforms, there are regular threads about changing the government, with numerous posts highlighting the weaknesses of the ruling party and the opposition’s use of race and religion to garner support. 

Ilham Center executive director Hisommudin Bakar said based on a study conducted by the organisation, the influence of social media in shaping voter attitudes is very dominant.  

“(From the study) we found the percentage to be huge, above 70%. 

“This means that mainstream media is losing its influence on the people,” Hisommudin told The Malaysian Insight. 

According to Hisommudin, government-controlled media is lagging behind social media. 

“In government-related issues, the purchase of media buys is more focused on areas such as electronic media and print media. 

“Therefore, the overflow of information on social media is difficult to contain and be controlled by the government. 

“That’s why all the initiatives and news of the government’s success are drowned by the viral issues on social media,” he said. 

Hisommudin said the government needs to start paying attention to social media segments. 

He said information needs to be more creative, informative and with interesting graphics. 

“This is one of the efforts that can balance the narratives from the public or the opposition with authentic information from the government,” Hisommudin said. 

“Government agencies related to information, communication and government media need to work harder. They need to move outside the framework of their old jurisdiction. 

“A large-scale reformation is needed. Otherwise, the government’s narrative and facts will be flooded with baseless sentiments,” he added. 

Messages don’t equal support

Taylor’s University’s senior lecturer at the School of Media and Communication Dr Benjamin Loh Yew Hoong, said while speculations on social media are very effective, they should not be construed as an indicator of general public support.

He said these kinds of divisive and antagonistic rhetoric are becoming very common these days that does not need to be rooted in facts or even reality. 

“The goal is to serve as a rallying cry for political supporters to amplify and disseminate, which in turn emboldens and entrenches their political views as they see the increased support towards these messages. 

“Conversely, it will also infuriate their political foes, which will excite their supporters and increase their political conviction,” said the associate with Asia Centre in Bangkok. 

Loh said certain types of messages are designed to pander towards certain groups and incense others. 

“This is an important distinction because just as a social media post seems nonsensical to you, it may be incredibly persuasive to others. 

“People often underestimate the parochial nature of social media and how easy it is to build a bubble around yourself and forget one major point, there are other bubbles with wildly different views and perspectives,” he said. 

Loh said there is no clear answer or solution to this problem

“It is difficult to prevent political messaging like this due to potential for abuse. If it contains misinformation then yes, it should be banned or regulated, but often these are just presented as rhetorical propaganda (which are often presented as opinions, which is allowed as a form of freedom of speech),” he said.

Another approach, Loh said, is to empower individuals with media literacy with the hope it strengthens a person’s ability to evaluate information they read on social media.

“This would allow them to think more critically and not be easily led astray by propaganda. 

“This, however, comes with its own problems as well, like avoiding the potential for abuse of power that often comes with increased regulation. 

“No country in the world has a solution to overcome this issue with social media and everyone is struggling to find a way to restore the digital public sphere,” he said. – May 21, 2023.