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SCMP’s Asia desk

Since President Donald Trump made the term into a political weapon in the lead-up to the US elections that brought him to power, “fake news” has come to dominate dinner table discussions and media agendas across the world.
Essentially, the term describes any story that has been made up and manipulated to look like a genuine report, which can then easily be shared online to large audiences via social media and messaging apps.
Its darkest form has been on display over the past 12 months in Asia, where fake stories have helped spread racial hatred, incite violence and influence elections.
Here, This Week In Asia looks back at how spurious stories and lamentable lies affected Asia this year.
WELCOME TO FAKEBOOK

Facebook, WhatsApp target fake news ahead of Asia’s election season
In January, social media giant Facebook and its popular messaging subsidiary WhatsApp promised to get tougher on fake news ahead of this year’s elections in India, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.
With nearly 1 billion active users across the Asia-Pacific, Facebook certainly had a job on its hands – and at the start of the year, not everyone was convinced the company was up to the task, including Filipino journalist and a Time magazine Person of the Year 2018, Maria Ressa, who accused big tech firms like Facebook of shying away from their responsibilities to uphold the truth and letting “lies spread faster”.

Facebook blocks foreign ads before Thai election amid fears junta will benefit
By mid-February, however, the social media site was taking action with a block on foreign electoral ads in Thailand in the run-up to that country’s polls on March 24 – a move designed to protect “the integrity of the elections”, it said, but which some observers claimed would hurt the more media-savvy opposition. In the end, Prayuth Chan-ocha – head of a military junta that had ruled the country since a 2014 coup – remained in power as the leader of a coalition that was only formed after nearly four months of political wrangling following the disputed polls.

Fake Facebook accounts tied to Indian politics, Pakistan’s military removed
Facebook also made moves to delete hundreds of fake pages and accounts in India and Pakistan, announcing in April that it had carried out a crackdown to rid the platform of “coordinated inauthentic behaviour”. During the rival nations’ hostilities over disputed Kashmir in February, fake news flew on both sides of the border, amplified by social media as well as mainstream news channels caught up in patriotic fervour.

Is China helping Indonesia fix its ballot boxes? No – it’s just another online hoax
In Indonesia, meanwhile, online hoaxes – exacerbated by digital illiteracy and increasing religious and racial tensions – swept the archipelago nation ahead of its own polls on April 17. One such fake news story, first posted on February 12, played on pervasive anti-China sentiment in Indonesia to claim Beijing would provide a loan to help “fix” ballot boxes damaged by disasters such as floods and earthquakes. The original, unaltered report, carried quotes from the chairman of the country’s general elections commission saying the damaged boxes would be replaced using state funds.

Anti-fake news law aims to counter falsehoods ‘exploiting’ Singapore’s ‘fault lines’
Southeast Asian governments responded to the threat of hoaxes this year with anti-fake news laws. Singapore’s, which was introduced in April before coming into effect six months later, imposes hefty fines of up to S$1 million (US$735,000) and maximum jail terms of 10 years for those convicted of spreading fake news – strengthening the city state’s already tough approach to dealing with misinformation, despite misgivings from free-speech supporters.

Malaysian MPs vote to do away with fake news law
Across the causeway in Malaysia, however, a very different story played out when the country scrapped a law criminalising fake news, with punishment of up six years behind bars and fines of 500,0000 ringgit (US$120,000). The controversial law, pushed through last year by the regime of former prime minister Najib Razak, was widely criticised as a crude tool aimed at silencing criticism in the wake of the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal.

Thailand’s ‘fake news’ monitoring hub fuels censorship concerns
Thailand’s response, meanwhile, was to launch an “Anti-Fake News Centre” in October that the government claimed would counter the “almost 80 per cent” of online or social media posts in the country that are false or misleading. Rights groups said the move was more aimed at stifling dissent and keeping a close eye on public discussion of the country’s unassailable monarchy.

Man arrested for hoax saying ‘police from China’ shot protesters in Indonesia
In May, Indonesia tackled a surge of misinformation in the wake of deadly post-election unrest by temporarily blocking WhatsApp in the country before arresting a man who claimed rioters in Jakarta had been shot by “police from China”. One of the offending messages seen by the South China Morning Post included photos of fair-skinned police officers, wearing masks, with the caption: “China has sent security forces to Indonesia disguised as foreign workers”.
Indonesian ‘cyber-jihadist’ arrested for spreading fake news, hate speech
Another Indonesian found himself under arrest in June, this time for spreading fake news and hate speech via social media as part of a self-proclaimed “cyber-jihadist network” that calls itself the Muslim Cyber Army. The 32-year-old, who told police he used to be a member of the notorious Islamic Defenders Front, ran a YouTube channel filled with dubious videos that were viewed more than 4 million times.

Reports of US$16 billion for East Timor gas project ‘politically motivated hoax’
Even tiny, impoverished East Timor found itself the victim of a politically motivated “hoax” this year, with the country’s Foreign Minister Dionísio da Costa Babo Soares telling This Week In Asia in August that reports it would borrow US$16 billion from China to finance an oil and gas project were overblown – although he admitted the nation was in “intense discussion” with a state-owned Chinese company to build a network of petroleum processing infrastructure along its south coast.

Beijing the bogeyman: how fake news fuels fears in Malaysia and Indonesia
More fake news swept Malaysia in September, with claims of Chinese nationals being granted Malaysian identity cards – the latest in a series of attempts to stoke racial tensions.
A growing number of such conspiracy theories aimed at China emerged in both Malaysia and neighbouring Indonesia this year, amid paranoia about the economic giant to their north wanting to “take over” the region.
Fake news of Chinese gaining citizenship stokes racial tensions in Malaysia
Indonesian authorities have also struggled to counter false reports about earthquakes and other natural disasters, which spread panic among residents of one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries and complicated relief efforts – with thousands of Indonesians too scared to return to their homes in October after a deadly quake sparked a stream of fake news and hoaxes warning that an even bigger tremor was looming.


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Social media

Chinese bogeymen, Facebook fails: a year in Asian fake news

A sign outside Thailand’s Anti-Fake News Centre in Bangkok. Photo: Reuters

An aerial view of East Timor's capital, Dili, which makes a great base from which to elxplore Asia's youngest nation. Photo: Shutterstock

Fire crackers explode near supporters of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto during clashes with the police in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said authorities have the volatile situation in the country's capital under control after six people died Wednesday in riots by supporters of his losing rival in last month's presidential election. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

FILE PHOTO: The Facebook application is seen on a phone screen August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo

A tour boat plies along the Singapore river at Empress Place in Singapore on October 14, 2019. - Singapore eased monetary policy for the first time in more than three years on October 14 as the US-China trade war bites, while the export-reliant economy narrowly avoided recession in the third quarter. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)

A man dressed as "Fake News Media" participates in the annual Village Halloween parade on Sixth Avenue on October 31, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Johannes EISELE / AFP)

epa07923980 Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (C) arrives at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 16 October 2019. Razak appeared at Kuala Lumpur High Court to face charges of money laundering and abuse of power; in relation to his alleged role in the scandal surrounding the state-owned firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). A day earlier, the trial was postponed so that Razak could deliver a speech to parliament. EPA-EFE/AHMAD YUSNI

epa07964341 Thai officials work on their first day at the Anti Fake News Center, after the opening ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand, 01 November 2019. Thailand opens the first centre of the Anti-Fake News Centre to combat fake news, as the latest country in Asian to push for cyber scrutiny with using AI and human monitors to flag posts on everything from health care to government policies. EPA-EFE/NARONG SANGNAK

This picture taken on March 18, 2019 shows an Indonesian election commission worker arranging ballot boxes in Surabaya, in preparation for the upcoming April 17 presidential and parliamentary elections. - Indonesia is probing vote-rigging claims after the discovery of thousands of stray election ballots in neighbouring Malaysia, officials said, as the opposition threatens to challenge next week's poll results over separate voter list irregularities. (Photo by Juni Kriswanto / AFP)

FILE PHOTO: Silhouettes of laptop users are seen next to a screen projection of Facebook logo in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

FILE - In this July 16, 2019, file photo, Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha gestures after a group photo with his Cabinet members at the government house in Bangkok, Thailand. Prayuth said Friday, Aug. 9, 2019 he is not quitting despite facing mounting criticism for failing to properly take his oath of office. Prayuth led members of his Cabinet to be inaugurated in a ceremony presided over by the Thai king on July 16. However, he omitted a phrase while taking the oath where he was supposed to pledge that he will uphold every aspect of the constitution. The omission has raised questions over whether the inauguration was legally valid. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

Thailand’s Anti-Fake News Centre in Bangkok. Photo: Reuters

Singapore’s fake news law: protecting the truth, or restricting free debate?

Singapore first used the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act on November 25, against opposition politician Brad Bowyer. Photo: AFP

People attend an election campaign rally by the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) in Singapore, in this September 4, 2015 file photo. A bedrock of support from communities guarantees that the PAP, which has ruled this city state since it won independence 50 years ago, will be returned to power this week. But K. Shanmugam, who is law and foreign minister, says the PAP can no longer take popular loyalty for granted: the party's share of the vote dropped to 60.1 percent in the last election, in 2011, its lowest ever, and a swing of just a few thousand votes in some electoral districts this time could erode its overwhelming majority in the 89-seat parliament. To prevent that, the party has tweaked its policy playbook in ways that will shift the direction of a country whose meteoric rise from tropical backwater to haven of wealth was based on a no-nonsense model of growth at all costs. REUTERS/Edgar Su/Files

Singapore's Minister of Law Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam speaks during a press conference along with deputy speaker of the parliament and chairman of the Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods, in Singapore on September 20, 2018. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)

The Singapore government's response to opposition politician Brad Bowyer's Facebook post, posted to its official fact-checking page. Photo: Image captured from www.gov.sg/factually

FILED - 31 May 2018, Berlin: Facebook application logo is seen on a cellular phone. The social network Facebook has begun testing a new news service called Facebook News in the United States, which was previously disclosed. Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa

Facebook says it will crack down on fake news ahead of Taiwan election

The social media giant said it would step up its efforts to counter misleading or false information. Photo: AP

Kaohsiung city mayor and the presidential candidate of Taiwan''s Nationalist Party(KMT) in the 2020 elections, Han Kuo-yu, gestures during a party congress in New Taipei City, Taiwan, Sunday, July 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

FILE PHOTO: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen attends a ceremony to sign up for Democratic Progressive Party's 2020 presidential candidate nomination in Taipei, Taiwan March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

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It was a bad year for China in the land of lies, with Beijing (wrongly) blamed for fixing the Indonesian election and fanning the post-vote violence
Facebook fared little better, but Singapore led a fake news fightback


It was a bad year for China, which was (falsely) blamed for fixing Indonesia’s election and fanning the post-vote violence. But Singapore led a fake news fightback.


Chinese bogeymen, Facebook fails: a year in Asian fake news

It was a bad year for China in the land of lies, with Beijing (wrongly) blamed for fixing the Indonesian election and fanning the post-vote violence Facebook fared little better, but Singapore led a fake news fightback

WELCOME TO FAKEBOOK

It was a bad year for China in the land of lies, with Beijing (wrongly) blamed for fixing the Indonesian election and fanning the post-vote violence

Facebook fared little better, but Singapore led a fake news fightback