The rapid spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has revealed the vast network of linkages that Southeast Asia has with the world. Increased globalization is part of the explanation given for why the virus has spread faster than the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003. In a parallel domain, fear and misinformation about the disease have spread faster than the virus itself due to increased internet connectivity. Misinformation can be difficult to contain in a highly online world and may have real-world health impacts by creating confusion and reducing the effectiveness of public health advice. The COVID-19 response in Southeast Asia has been frustrated by misinformation and deliberate disinformation, and much of this disinformation have drawn on conspiracy theories and anti-Chinese sentiment that seek to exploit pre-existing divisions in society.
This webinar looks at the ways COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation has spread online in Southeast Asia and illustrates efforts to counter such misinformation. It draws from the work of Kawal Covid-19, a group of Indonesian data scientists and other volunteers, who have been working on data-driven solutions to the problem of misinformation in recent Indonesian elections (Kawal Pemilu). The seminar considers how any public health response to a viral pandemic, like COVID-19, must be prepared for the dueling contagions of the virus and the online misinformation about the virus.
About the speakers:
Quinton Temby is a Visiting Fellow with the Regional Social and Cultural Studies Programme at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. He is the author of a forthcoming book on the rise of global jihadism in Southeast Asia (OUP).
Elina Ciptadi is one of the coordinators of KawalCovid19.id, a pro-data netizen movement to provide Indonesians with accurate information on how to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Elina is a communications consultant specializing in crisis and internal communications with a 20-year track record in managing corporate and natural crises in Indonesia, covering a wide range of issues from bankruptcy, strike, boycott, closure, product recall, natural disaster to terrorism.
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