By: Mohd Zaki Abdul Razak and Dr Eizan Azira Mat Sharif

Social media platforms had developed into practical tools for political parties to shape the narrative in Malaysia’s last election in the digital age (and in the future). Political parties have reacted to this phenomenon by aggressively manipulating digital media and news, spending thousands of ringgit and engaging influencers in portraying the narrative intended for the public to consume. Whoever controls social media platforms will ultimately influence the narrative and, hence, will have enormous power to shape public perception and how people view a given topic. These platforms have radically changed how people receive news, express their ideas, and participate in public discourse.

The Digital Age and Social Media's Dominance

Before the digital age, the government controlled the traditional distribution of news. Therefore, the narrative conveyed to the people of Malaysia was always skewed towards the positive side of the government in power. However, the rapid rise of the internet and social media platforms has revolutionised how information is produced, consumed, and shared. Therefore, whoever controls social media will control the flow of information conveyed to the Malaysian public.

According to a report by Statista, as of January 2023, approximately 78.5 per cent of the Malaysian population was active social media users compared to 91.7 per cent in 2022, which can safely be due to Malaysia’s 15th general election in 2022. This statistic shows that the Malaysian public is actively on social media platforms to obtain the latest information apart from using it just for entertainment purposes. The statistic also shows that social media platforms are a force to be reckoned with in conveying the narrative that each political party in Malaysia wants its supporters or adversaries to know.

Control of the Narrative: A Strategic Advantage

Why is there a need to control the narrative? It is pertinent for the political parties to control the narrative to keep their supporters informed of the latest updates and disseminate that information to their social groups to garner more supporters. Using social media, political parties can shape the story, perspective, or discourse surrounding a particular topic of interest. If used efficiently, this control will give the parties the power to shape public opinion. Below are some of the key elements used in narrative control:

1. Content Creation and Dissemination: Social media platforms allow political parties to create and share content, including text, images, videos, and links. Those parties with reasonable control of the narrative, i.e., in terms of strategic placement, timely executed and graphically attractive, can produce and distribute content that advances their agenda.

2. Algorithmic Influence: Social media platforms employ complex algorithms to curate users’ feeds and recommend content. Political parties can use the algorithms to ensure certain narratives gain prominence while suppressing opposing viewpoints. This method will depend on each political party’s budget on each social media platform.

3. Amplification through Networks: Narrative controllers often have extensive networks of followers, influencers, and supporters who help amplify their messages. This network effect can magnify the reach and impact of their narrative.

4. Gatekeeping and Moderation: Social media companies can regulate content through moderation and censorship. The government of the day can use this method to silence dissenting voices or promote specific narratives. However, Twitter (now known as X) has abolished this service and allows more freedom in their users to express their views.

5. Emotional Appeal and Virality: Content that elicits strong emotions, such as anger, fear, or excitement, is more likely to go viral. Narrative controllers may deliberately craft content to provoke emotional responses and spread their message widely. We can see nowadays that content that involves the three ‘Rs’ (Race, Religion and Royalty) has gained massive traction in getting the intended agenda by political parties (Post-GE15).

Case Studies: Narrative Control in Action

In India’s 2014 General Election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to engage 32,000 social media influencers to communicate their political information to their followers. The narrative they played was that the Indian National Congress (INC) – National Congress Party (NCP) coalition government was involved in various forms of mismanagement and scams during its tenure as the government. Their social media platform of choice was WhatsApp although they were also on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. They bombarded the social media platform across 288 constituencies and the news was circulated 5,760,000 times directly (viral marketing) and indirectly (word-of-mouth). In the end, they managed to garner the highest number of voters for the Indian election, approximately 66 per cent (551.3 million), resulting in the downfall of INC-NCP government that had ruled India for the past 54 years.

In the 2016 US General Election, Trump’s three narratives in his Presidential campaign agenda were: First, how he can make America Great Again; Second, how he can secure United States borders from illegal immigrants and, Third, how he will protect the American workers. With these issues, Trump managed to deep dive into the heart of a sizeable segment of the American electorate. Going with the trend of using social media and big data analytics, Trump enrolled the assistance of predictive analysis (where the use of statistical modelling to determine future performance based on current and historical data) and maximised his reach to the fabric of American society, whose angst resonated with his message. The data they gathered from the social media platform was cross-checked with every social media posting they posted. Trump and his political campaign team managed to maximise the full potential of social media towards their advantage, resulting in Trump emerging as the 45th President of the United States of America.

In the 2018 Malaysian General Election, Pakatan Harapan (PH) also embarked on using social media in its marketing campaign. The narrative that was being used then was the issue of the mismanagement of 1MDB funds by the incumbent Barisan National (BN) government. PH had to use the social media platform as BN controlled the mainstream media. It managed to utilise the social media platform efficiently. Barisan Nasional (BN) did not manage to curtail the deluge of opposition propaganda on social media. The strategy worked, and PH won 113 seats, giving it the simple majority to topple BN which, up until that point, had governed for 60 years. This demonstrated that the amplification and repetition of narrative control in various forms across all social media platforms successfully changed the mindset of people into believing that PH was better than BN.

In conclusion, controlling the narrative has become more crucial in the digital age due to social media’s extensive reach and ability to influence public perceptions and views. Narrative control can be used positively or negatively, but its effects are significant and far-reaching. The political parties in Malaysia have been using narrative controls to manage the perception that they want to convey to their supporters and the public at large. However, we have to ensure that narrative control serves the interests of society as a whole, and we have to be watchful, promote media literacy, and fight for transparency and accountability as we traverse the complex social media landscape in the future.

-- BERNAMA

Mohd Zaki Abdul Razak is a part-time lecturer at University Kuala Lumpur Business School. His research and teaching interests include Entrepreneurship Education, Design Thinking, Business Innovation, Digital Marketing and Economics.

Dr Eizan Azira Mat Sharif is a lecturer in the New Media Communications programme in the Faculty of Leadership and Management at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM).