May 13 warnings haunt TikTok after polling day

 

Several posts warning about a possible repeat of the deadly May 13, 1969 race riots were found on TikTok in the 48 hours after polling day on Saturday, which accumulated over several hundred thousand views.

The videos or their creators had no identifiable links to one another but they propagated a similar narrative targeted at Malay-Muslim viewers, alleging political dominance by DAP if the party is allowed to be a part of any government.

Media watchdog Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) said its 15th general election (GE15) monitoring initiative identified disinformation and polarising narratives on the May 13 incident, targeting DAP as alleged perpetrators, and Pakatan Harapan by extension.

“Significant engagement was seen on TikTok but it had also gone viral across platforms.

“These narratives are inflammatory and are being used to create fear, and is pushing an anti-DAP (anti-Chinese) agenda while calling for mainly Perikatan Nasional (PN) to govern the country,” said CIJ executive director Wathshlah Naidu.

Based on an overview of the GE15 results, PN’s rise was partly attributed to a successful social media campaign on TikTok, involving paid influencers who targeted young and first-time voters.

At the same time, Wathshlah noted there is a significantly lower but positive trend of internet users countering such hateful narratives.

“It demonstrates the critical need to be informed and progressive in thinking to withstand such targeted hate narratives,” she said.

She said relevant authorities including agencies under the Communications and Multimedia Ministry should issue a statement to counter the spread of such disinformation that could be deemed inciteful and likely to cause violence.

Malaysiakini has reached out to Bukit Aman for comments.

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The videos emerged after Saturday’s polls ended with a hung Parliament.

Harapan won the most seats at 82, while PN bagged 73.

Both coalitions are now in a race to form the next government.

The inspector-general of police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani has since warned social media users not to misuse their platforms to spread provocative content that could lead to public unrest.

He noted that since the results of GE15 were announced, the police have found a number of social media users who uploaded content that touched upon racial and religious sentiment as well as those that insulted the monarchy.

“Firm action under the Communications and Multimedia Act, the Sedition Act, as well as the Penal Code will be taken against any parties trying to incite situations that could threaten public peace and safety,” he said in a statement. - Mkini