This book offers a regional analysis of the impact of fake news -
misinformation, malinformation and disinformation - on electoral
democracy and freedom of expression in Southeast Asia, which has taken
place in the middle of a global health pandemic.
The book maps the impact of social media and the internet on democracy
in the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that have
already been in the throes of democratic regression for some time.
Including an analysis of countries that do not have national elections,
the chapters provide detailed information on the extent of internet and
social media penetration in each country, the laws that are deployed to
reel in its political potential for critics and demonstrate the impact
on democracy or the prospects for democracy. Collectively, contributors
note that disinformation is a serious problem in the region that
negatively impacts elections and how governments' attempts to deal with
the phenomenon inevitably lead to the targeting of dissenting voices and
opposition as anti-state fake news. The deleterious impact on democracy
and freedom of expression, facilitated by a citizenry that is prone to
manipulation of facts, appears to be the standard modus operandi in
the regional authoritarian complex.
This book is the first to undertake a regional analysis of
disinformation in Southeast Asia and is a significant contribution to
the literature on democracy, elections and disinformation. It will be of
interest to researchers in the fields of Political Science and Asian
Politics, in particular Southeast Asian Politics.
