Demystifying disinformation shadow economies: fake news work models in Indonesia and the Philippines

Ong, Jonathan Corpus; Tapsell, Ross

doi:10.1080/01292986.2021.1971270

Cited by 24 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…In Southeast Asia, existing studies chart the development of a disinformation industry in various countries aimed at winning elections and the ability of governments to capitalise upon disinformation to control political discourse as part of a broader phenomenon of digital authoritarianism (Masduki, 2022;Ong & Tapsell, 2022;Sinpeng & Tapsell, 2021). Drawing on research in the Philippines and Indonesia, Ong and Tapsell (2022) propose a typology of dominant disinformation "work models:" a state-sponsored model combining the repressive machinery of the state with hyper-partisan trolling; an "in-house" model where disinformation is waged by political staff with experience in dirty-campaigning in elections; an advertising and public relations model, where disinformation is outsourced to consultants, and a clickbait model driven by advertising revenue. Other research on disinformation in Indonesia has identified the government as responsible for pro-government information campaigns designed to appear independent of it (Mufti & Rasidi, 2021;Sastramidjaja et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A pro-government disinformation campaign on Indonesian Papua

et al. 2022

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This research identifies an Indonesian-language Twitter disinformation campaign posting pro-government materials on Indonesian governance in Papua, site of a protracted ethno-nationalist, pro-independence insurgency. Curiously, the campaign does not employ common disinformation tactics such as hashtag flooding or the posting of clickbait with high engagement potential, nor does it seek to build user profiles that would make the accounts posting this material appear as important participants in a debate over Papua’s status. The campaign simply employs synchronous, duplicate posts by ostensibly distinct authors to ensure that a significant proportion of posts mentioning contentious special autonomy arrangements are pro-government. Despite lacking sophistication, the scale of this information campaign in overall Twitter discussion of special autonomy adds to concerns about the ability of pro-government actors to employ disinformation to constrict political discourse in Southeast Asia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A pro-government disinformation campaign on Indonesian Papua

et al. 2022

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“…These elections were heavily packed with polarized information and competing smear campaigns propagated through social media platforms. Ong and Tapsell (2022) have argued that such cybertrooper activity is primarily commercially driven and only partially ideologically motivated. Outside of election campaigns, Indonesian government ministries commonly employ, officially and unofficially, influencers to promote their messaging and programs (ICW, 2020; Tapsell, 2021).…”

Section: Influencers and Their Subcultures In Indonesiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Influencing the influencers: Regulating the morality of online conduct in Indonesia

2022

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Indonesia boasts a lively influencer scene. These influencers promote various products and messages, including political messages, to their followers for commercial gain, and have been particularly active during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Influencers in Indonesia are potentially subject to state regulation, particularly via the controversial Electronic Transactions and Information Law (ITE Law) which criminalizes digital communications that "breach morality," defame the good name of another, or spread misleading information resulting in consumer losses. In addition, influencers face a risk of community-led regulation, via an online backlash, should they transgress perceived moral boundaries. In this article, we present and analyze a series of case studies where influencer behavior has attracted regulatory responses. These cases illustrate the interactions among regulatory actors and also where and how the lines for acceptable influencer moral standards of behavior are being drawn.

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“…After the blasphemy accusations against Ahok, the Jakarta governor, in 2016 and the subsequent demonstrations that led to his arrest and imprisonment, cyber activity was flooded with divisive material put out on the internet and amplified by trolls. Anti-Ahok material circulated was, for instance, critical of his Chinese ethnicity, which denotes being a foreigner and communist; his Christian faith was touted through radical Islamist tones as an infidel (Lim, 2017;Ong & Tapsell, 2021). The other side also pushed distorted facts about Ahok's opponent; Anies accused him of being linked to several corruption incidences and made absurd accusations that he had intentions of introducing sharia law and being cheered on by Iranian Shia groups.…”

Section: Trolling/buzzingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The illegality of these devious cyber practices can be conceptualized through these domains of law. Measures put in place and suggested for cyber policy and cyber law review in Indonesia are problematic in certain instances, ironically manifest as draconian measures that risk victimizing the very populace it is protecting (Ong & Tapsell, 2021).…”

Section: The Legality Of Some Devious Cyber Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Legality of Devious Cyber Practices: Readiness of Indonesia's Cyber Laws

Manullang¹

2022

Society (Bangka. Online)

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The ever-expanding Indonesian cyberspace has ushered in significant economic growth to the country’s online business and e-commerce. This is due to the country’s rising internet penetration rate of 73% of its total population, with about 204 million people connected to the internet. This high connectivity has brought about several positive socio-economic opportunities but with other thorny issues like cybercrime, misinformation, cyber-induced intolerance, disinformation, trolling and cyber warfare. Despite the Indonesian government’s intervention with measures to regulate cyber activities, some devious cyber practices undefined in legal literature continue to be practiced, even passed as legitimate, sometimes leading to negative consequences. These practices are often conducted as organized operations that target populations to create mistrust and polarize the targeted population. Some are crafted as cyber warfare declared by entities within a country or from a foreign country targeting another’s populace, which poses a threat to social order. This paper explores these devious cyber practices and their strategies and mitigation possibilities. A sociological research approach coupled with the use of law enforcement theory was applied to study and analyze Indonesia’s cyber security law enforcement policies, the Internet and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law, the Criminal Prosecution Act, the Constitutional law, civil society actors and private sector actors on cyber security. Indonesian law and international law, coupled with available technology, were reviewed for readiness to address threats posed by these devious cyber issues to social order. Measures taken by the Indonesian government are in readiness to combat these cyberspace issues in its jurisdiction but also present more questions on the proposals for reviews to the legislation and introduction of content monitoring systems, which risk being inappropriately deployed in censorships or suppression of legitimate freedom of expression.

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Demystifying disinformation shadow economies: fake news work models in Indonesia and the Philippines

Cited by 24 publications

References 9 publications

A pro-government disinformation campaign on Indonesian Papua

A pro-government disinformation campaign on Indonesian Papua

Influencing the influencers: Regulating the morality of online conduct in Indonesia

The Legality of Devious Cyber Practices: Readiness of Indonesia's Cyber Laws

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