Social Media Causes Anxiety Ahead of Election

OTTAWA, SUNDAY - Canadian voters are inundated with false posts ahead of the elections. Meanwhile, in Australia, voters are flooded with posts from influencers and campaign advertisements. In Singapore, foreign posts by citizens are prohibited.

Canada is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on Monday (28/4/2025), while Australia and Singapore are both scheduled to hold elections on Saturday (3/5/2025).

In Canada, Facebook has stopped uploads from various official mass media since 2023. This is because Meta, which owns Facebook, refused to pay compensation to media companies. The compensation was determined by the Canadian parliament on the grounds that Facebook benefits from uploads containing mass media news.

In the run-up to the election, some people are posting posts that appear to be verified news. Research by the University of Ottawa and McGill University found a spike in such fake material.

Elizabeth Dubois from the University of Ottawa stated that there has been a surge of misinformation and disinformation on Canadian social media. Additionally, there has also been an increase in posts from influencers. It remains unclear whether the influencers are posting on their own initiative or for payment. "The ethical boundaries are blurred," she said.

Aengus Bridgman from McGill University confirmed that there are many posts of misinformation and disinformation. "On X and Instagram, there is more interaction from the Conservative Party. On Blueksy (a social media platform in Canada), there are more Liberals," he stated.

Bridgman, who also manages the Media Ecosystem Observatory, stated that the lack of uploads from media companies is a cause of the surge in misinformation. "We have not found evidence that Canadians have been misled or not," he said.

He found many posts resulting from artificial intelligence (AI) manipulation. These posts include videos of political figures discussing certain issues. Additionally, the AI-generated content also creates the illusion of being from mass media and verified news. "The news is not available on the platform (social media), (manipulated posts) AI pretends to be news," he said.

Meta spokesperson Julia Perreira stated that Meta continues to strive to protect the social media ecosystem in Canada. Meta is collaborating with the Canadian Election Commission to cleanse its platform of misinformation ahead of the elections.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, there is concern regarding SARA content on social media. Singapore has requested Meta to remove posts deemed to contain SARA incitement.

Singapore specifically requested the removal of posts by three individuals from Malaysia and Australia. They are Abdul Samad, Mohamed Sukri Omar, and Zulfikar bin Mohamad Shariff. Samad and Omar are Malaysian citizens, while Shariff is a Singaporean who has been an Australian citizen since 2020.

Samad and Omar are both politicians in Malaysia. Shariff, meanwhile, is not said to be affiliated with any party.

In his post, Shariff accused Malay politicians in the People's Action Party (PAP) of not defending the interests of Malays and Muslims. Therefore, he urged voters not to support the PAP, which is the ruling party in Singapore.

From Wednesday (23/4/2025) to Thursday (1/5/2025), Singapore begins a nine-day campaign period. Parliamentary candidates are allowed to campaign.

This year's election is also reinforced by legal regulations regarding social media established by the government in 2023. These regulations prohibit foreigners from posting online election advertisements. Such posts can be defined as online content that may assist or harm certain political parties or candidates.

Based on that regulation, the Infocomm Media Development Authority also monitors social media platforms such as Facebook. On Facebook, there are posts from the three foreign nationals that are deemed to support or undermine the success of certain political parties or candidates.

The Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore has established that foreign interference in elections is a legal violation. Forms of such interference include posts and advertisements on social media.

Singapore also strictly prohibits any campaign material deemed to incite based on SARA. "Bringing religion into politics will undermine social cohesion and harmony, as we have seen in other countries with race or religion-based politics," stated the Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore.

In that city-state, any efforts to incite racial friction will be dealt with severely. Singapore does not want any divisions based on ethnicity, religion, or race.

Like Canada, Australia has also seen a surge in political posts from influencers. University of Melbourne researcher Fan Yang found a surge in Australian election material on WeChat, RedNote, and TikTok. All of these are Chinese-made social media. "We found a lot of Liberal Party ads," he said.

There are also many advertisements from the Labor Party. Some are made by party members. Some are made by people who are not party members.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority report shows that 46 percent of 18-24 year olds rely on social media as a source of information. In fact, 31 percent of them cite influencers as a trusted source of information.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) recorded that there are 1.83 million voters in that age group registered to vote in the May 2025 elections. The level of participation is yet to be determined.

Musician Holly Rankin, also known as Jack River, is among the influencers who regularly discuss politics. In fact, she believes that young people will be the determining factor in the outcome of the Australian elections in May 2025.

A Communication lecturer at Griffith University, Susan Grantham, stated that influencers are now more important for young voters. Users of Instagram and TikTok are more likely to hear from influencers without a political background compared to individuals with decades of experience in politics. "There will always be influencers who are politically inclined (towards certain factions) and promote politics during campaigns," she said. (AP/AFP)