Social Media and Malaysia’s 2022 Election: The Growth and Impact of Video Campaigning

This article argues that Malaysia’s 2022 General Election (GE15) amplified negative campaigning via new techniques associated with platform and technological advancements, led by creative innovations in campaign tactics, including livestreaming and video content. GE15 was the freest election campaign in Malaysia’s history. All political parties and coalitions enjoyed access to a wide range of mainstream and online media to disseminate content, and new platforms like TikTok emerged as influential conduits of campaign messages. Yet serious problems in this digital public sphere remain a feature of the country’s media landscape. These include cybertroopers, fake news peddlers, and those creating polarizing content around race and religious issues. This article explains how social media campaigning in Malaysia is becoming more professionalized and better resourced, inspiring some diversity and creativity, while at the same time enabling groups who spread narratives intended to incite and enrage, particularly via video content. The Malaysian case exemplifies the growing problems within the contemporary digital public sphere, showing how the professionalization of social media campaigning can lead to disinformation and, ultimately, polarization.

社交媒体与马来西亚2022年大选：视频竞选活动的增长和影响

关键词：社交媒体，虚假信息，马来西亚，选举，媒体自由

本文认为，马来西亚2022年大选（或GE15，第15届大选）通过与平台和技术进步相关的新技巧——首当其冲的是包括直播和视频内容的竞选手法上创造性的创新——而放大了负面竞选。第15届大选是马来西亚历史上最自由的竞选。所有政党和联盟都可以利用广泛的主流和在线媒体来传播内容，TikTok 等新平台成为有影响力的竞选信息渠道。然而，存在于这个数字公共领域的严重问题也是该国媒体的一大特色。这其中包括网络水军、假新闻贩卖者，以及围绕着种族和宗教问题制造两极分化内容的作者。本论文解释了马来西亚的社交媒体竞选怎样变得更为专业化以及资源更为丰富，激发了一定的多样性和创造性，然而同时也催生了那些散布——特别通过视频内容散布——意图煽动和具有激怒性的叙事的群体。马来西亚的案例例证了当代数字公共领域内日渐严重的问题，表明社交媒体竞选活动的专业化会如何导致虚假信息以及最终的两级分化。

Translated by Li Guo