Organizer: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute
Type/Location: Hybrid / Singapore
Description:
The ubiquity of social media platforms and the widespread commercialisation of various artificial intelligence (AI) applications have sparked global concern, including in Southeast Asia, about the impact disinformation, political propaganda, and deepfakes can have on the outcomes of democratic elections. The use of social media, and more recently, AI-generated content and AI technologies, in election campaigns has become indispensable for candidates to engage voters, amplify their campaign messaging, and oftentimes undermine their opponents.
This hybrid seminar will present findings from a national survey conducted in Indonesia on the role of different media and the impact of both AI- and non-AI-generated disinformation and election propaganda on voter perceptions and behaviours in Indonesia’s 2024 Presidential Election. This will be followed by a presentation drawing on a survey conducted in Singapore examining the role different types of media played during Singapore’s 2025 General Election, people’s attitude towards AI and online falsehoods and the implications for digital inclusion and literacy.
About the Speakers:
Dr. Carol Soon is Associate Professor (Practice) and Deputy Head at the Department of Communications and New Media (CNM) in the National University of Singapore. She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Information Integrity (2025 to 2026) and Principal Investigator at the NUS Centre for Trusted Internet and Community. She is also Adjunct Principal Scientist at the Centre for Advanced Technologies in Online Safety (CATOS), set up by the Ministry of Digital Development and Information.
Dr. Maria Monica Wihardja is a Visiting Fellow and Co-Coordinator of the Media, Technology and Society Programme at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Department of Southeast Asian Studies in the National University of Singapore. She is also a Global Associate at the Indonesia Project and an Honorary Fellow at the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University.
Registration:
To attend the event in person, please register here.
To attend the event online, please register here.