🔉📱#OpTenggara roundup #12

#OpTenggara is a monthly roundup of news relating to information operations, disinformation, malign interference, influence campaigns, cyber threats, and general grey zone activity in Southeast Asia. Hope you enjoy reading it!

Govt says millions of ‘hoax’ posts removed in election run-in

Indonesia’s government claimed that tech firms had removed 12 million “hoax” posts in the run up to the country’s presidential election in February. The government said this election had seen a shift in the type of misinformation and disinformation disseminated. During the last election in 2019, hoaxes tended to involve fabricated stories about a candidate’s alleged ties to China. The recent election saw claims relating to alleged bias in government institutions toward a presidential candidate.

China using AI to control narratives on South China Sea, says investigation

An investigation by a Filipino media outlet Press One claimed that Chinese state media outlets had used AI in a bid to change negative public opinion toward China on the issue of the South China Sea dispute. The investigation said: “China Daily has deployed AI-enhanced short videos of real-life reporters who have mostly toed Beijing’s line on the sea dispute with the Philippines and neighbouring countries.” Press One also claimed Chinese state media organisations had using the Filipino language to propagate pro-China messages on websites and social media platforms.

Data leak reveals China’s hacking operations in Southeast Asia

A document dump anonymously posted online in February pointed to how hackers at a Chinese state-linked security contractor had targeted government agencies across Southeast Asia for years. The leak suggested attacks penetrated state systems in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia, as well as private companies.

Russia, ASEAN become digital partners

Russia’s Mission to ASEAN announced that Russia and ASEAN had signed an agreement that made them official partners in the digital sphere. A short statement by the Russian mission said it was “looking forward to…joint initiatives and knowledge exchange in this cutting-edge field.”

Russia’s MoD claims Southeast Asians fighting in Ukraine

A document released by Russia’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) claimed that more than 13,000 foreign nationals had arrived in Ukraine since February 2022 to “fight for the neo-Nazis [Russia’s reference to Ukraine]”. Of this figure, the RussiaMoD claimed there had been 10 Indonesians, 17 Filipinos, and three Thais that had joined Ukrainian forces. 

#OpTenggara will enter into a hiatus, with the newsletter focusing more on non-state armed groups for the foreseeable future. Hope you enjoyed the last year of #OpTenggara updates!