Showing 1 - 5 of 5
'Infodemic' infects Southeast Asia
Oped, Published on 25/08/2021
» Covid-19 and its subsequent "infodemic" of false or misleading information has impacted access to accurate public health information in Southeast Asia. A suite of existing legislation and recent emergency measures have been used by governments to silence their critics rather than repress the infodemic and have served to block accurate pandemic information. Compounding matters is the weak adherence to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), indicators that aim at fostering more open societies through greater access to information online.
Govt hate speech spikes in SE Asia
Oped, Published on 16/10/2020
» Hate speech against youths by government officials, military and the police in the media and over social media is on the rise as students lead protests calling for a change in government and demanding political reforms in Belarus, Thailand and Hong Kong. In Thailand, the two state of emergency decrees, the first, used since March 2020 for the management of the Covid-19 pandemic, the most recent to maintain public order in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area, both shield the Thai government from criticism.
New hate speech rules threaten Asian democracy
Oped, Published on 18/07/2020
» Southeast Asia is experiencing new forms of hate speech that are increasingly played out over social media and a wide range of increasingly accessible digital platforms. Updated measures to tackle new forms of hate must move away from outdated policies focused on narrow definitions of hate speech.
Covid crisis stifles political criticism in SE Asia
Oped, Published on 27/05/2020
» Covid-19 has spurred the use of fake news laws to censor political criticism in Southeast Asia.
Coronavirus and democracy in Southeast Asia
Oped, Published on 01/04/2020
» In Southeast Asia, as the health crisis escalates and countries go into different variations of a lockdown, it is affording regimes with authoritarian tendencies the opportunity to suppress political expression, enforce strict obedience and consolidate their rule. Unless this is called out and actions taken to address these measures, a post-Covid-19 Southeast Asia will put democracy on the backfoot in the region.