The rise of TikTok and decline of cybertroopers in Malaysia
309 Regent St.
London W1B 2HW
UK
Please join the Westminster Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI) for a research seminar with Dr Benjamin YH Loh (Taylor’s University, Malaysia).
Malaysia’s digital public sphere has been largely dominated by cybertroopers, paid political actors seeking to influence public opinion on politics through the use of digital astroturfing, account sockpuppetry and disinformation. However, in recent years the efficacy of these campaigns is starting to wane due to reduced funding and shifts in social media practices and behaviours. The latter is driven by TikTok whose algorithm prioritises more organic and authentic activities, which in turn limit the influence of political actors. As such, I will discuss the platform features of Tik Tok and why it poses a threat to the political establishment in many countries that relies on the use of cybertroopers and troll farms, and what this means for the future of the digital public sphere.
Benjamin Yew Hoong Loh is a senior lecturer at the School of Media and Communication, the Director of the Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions Impact Lab at Taylor’s University and a Visiting Fellow at the ISEAS Yusof-Ishak Institute. He is a media scholar who employs digital ethnography in studying emergent cultures and issues affecting the digital public sphere. His published works include co-edited books “Sabah from the Ground: The 2020 Elections and the Politics of Survival” (ISEAS/SIRD 2021) with Bridget Welsh and Vilashini Somiah, and “New Media in the Margins: Lived Realities and Experiences from the Malaysian Peripheries” (Palgrave 2023) with James Chin.
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