COMMUNICATIONS Minister Fahmi Fadzil yesterday (March 22) made references to a certain attempt by unknown forces to shape the narrative on social media and has called upon the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to examine this issue promptly.

“There is an effort to shape public perception on social media through coordinated inauthentic behaviour using accounts that cannot be identified.

“I have asked @MCMC_RASMI to immediately examine this issue to ensure that the use of social media complies with the laws of the country,” he wrote on the X platform.

The post is accompanied by a video in which he explains the situation.

Coordinated inauthentic behaviour (CIB) is indeed a recognised issue on social media platforms, where it’s used to manipulate public opinion by artificially promoting or suppressing certain topics.

Meta has also reacted to information regarding CIB, saying, “We’re constantly working to find and stop coordinated campaigns that seek to manipulate public debate across our apps.

“And we share our findings about coordinated, inauthentic behaviour we detect and remove from our platforms.”

However, netizens are blasting Fahmi for asking MCMC to investigate the matter, adding that in the days of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the opposition, they were using social media platforms to incite the people.

In a twist, for some, PH seems to have abandoned its manifesto and its slogans of the yesteryears, like reformasi or ‘lawan tetap lawan’ against adversaries.

While it is clear that PH was a fighting force when it was in opposition, it appears that everything changes when one is in power.

This is what many people are saying on various social media platforms.

For example, @dollahpfft said the current government is slow and unable to control the narrative, just like in the case of PADU which is heavily criticised online, but the government finds it hard to shake such criticism away.

On the other hand, user @Iam_Zaril gave the minister some free advice, such as why the Malaysian government is not taking a leaf from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the ways they control the official narrative in the country to protect the locals from fake news and slander online. - March 23, 2024

https://focusmalaysia.my/netizens-disagree-with-fahmi-on-unknown-forces-controlling-social-media-narratives/