TPAD2313-01 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE

REPORT OF FINAL ASSIGNMENT

SOCIAL MEDIA HAS RAISED

PUBLIC INTEREST IN POLITICS

NAME:

SYAHZANANI BINTI SYERIE NIZAM (B201101071)

LECTURER:

MADAM MARDZIAH HANIM MAZAHIR

 CONTENT

1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………… 2-3

1.1 Introduction Summarize ………………………………………………………....... 3-4

2. The Effect Of Social Media In Voting ………………………………………………… 4

2.1 Effect of Social Media For Domestic Political View in Voting ………………….. 4-5

2.2 Effect of Social Media For International Political View in Voting ………………. 6-7

3. The Effect Of Social Media In Protest ……………………………………………….. 8

3.1 Effect of Social Media For International Political View in Protest ……………… 8-9

3.2 Effect of Social Media For Domestic Political View in Protest …………………. 9-10

4. The Effect of Social Media In Political False News ………………………………... 10-11

4.1 Effect of Social Media For International Political View in False News ………... 11-12

4.2 Effect of Social Media For Domestic Political View in False News …………… 12-13

5. The Effect Of Social Media In Political Behaviour …………………………...…… 13-14

5.1 Effect of Social Media For International Political View in Politician's behaviour
………………………………………………………………………………………. 14-15

5.2 Effect of Social Media For Domestic Political Views in Politician's behaviour
………………………………………………………………………………………. 15-16

6. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………… 16

7. Reference ……………………………………………………………………….….. 17-18

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 1. Introduction

Social Media has raised public interest in political matters.

It is no secret that social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are popular in today’s
society. More than 4 out of 5 adults who are online use every social media platform on a monthly
basis with the average user spending 5-7 hours on it each day.

Social media has made it easier for users to stay connected with their friends and family while
making new connections as well. For businesses this means a potential customer. However,
social media is not only used by individuals but also by politicians. Political uses of social media
platforms include the activities carried out through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other
similar websites.

The introduction of social media sites has caused an increase in political debates. With the spread
of the internet into homes, many people have heard about politics for the first time on a social
platform. These platforms started to grow fast and have left an impact on politics. One example
of this would be the recent United State presidential election in 2016. Also in 2018 for Malaysia
election day. During this election, the candidates were promoted outwards through social media
at a rapid pace which increased public interest in political matters.

This increase in public interest has had some negative effects on politics; especially when it
comes to issues that are polarizing such as religion or race relations. The rise of social media has
greatly impacted news circulation and political corruption. Its influence has also changed the
dynamics of conflict and political corruption. As fact-checking standards online are lax, low
entry barriers together with the unprecedented speed with which users can share content on
social media could lead to a spread of misinformation and fake news, ultimately increasing
political misperceptions. As immediate reactions are often based on emotions rather than reason,
fake news, which evokes fear or anger, may spread faster than real news, which is often less
emotionally charged. Social media sites have influenced discussions as people have been able to
easily connect with each other, for both good and bad.

For these reasons, it is important that social media remains a public forum for people to voice out
their opinions as well as create an exposure for politicians. Social media is a platform that can be

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used to spread information or hate. Therefore, it will be important that political leaders keep an
open mind and are not complacent when it comes to this form of communication.

The concept of new media is that it allows anyone with an Internet connection and skills to
become a content creator. This concept is how citizens can participate in political discourse and
make decisions. The political significance of computer-mediated communication lies in its
ability to challenge the political hierarchy's monopoly on communications media. Furthermore,
low barriers to entry coupled with the ability of online media users to repost, reshare, and copy
content generated by others could undermine the reputation mechanisms that serve to guard the
quality of information of traditional media outlets.

The real powershift is happening in a networked society where the producer is the consumer.
There is a redistribution of power and controls. The rise of social media platforms such as
Facebook and Twitter has allowed political information to reach millions of people.

1.1 Introduction Summarize

We will begin by summarizing the main reason about how social media may affect politics. The
two most important distinguishing features of the new social media are low barriers to entry and
reliance on users' creator content. Low entry barriers make the gatekeeping of the spread of
political information much less effective, allowing new entrants previously sidelined by the
political establishment. By providing an outlet to the opposition and to whistleblowers, social
media makes it harder for politicians to hide potentially harmful information. The existing
theoretical literature suggests that this could potentially make political regimes more valuable
and more accountable. Low entry barriers can also have social costs. Social media gives a
platform to all previously marginalized groups, not only to the legitimate opposition in autocratic
regimes. For example, social media can be used to spread extremist ideas, increasing their reach
and potentially their influence.

Users that created the content and two-way communication in social media could also change the
way politicians and citizens interact: Social media allow politicians to receive immediate
feedback on policy actions, to discuss policy proposals, and to measure political discontent. Such
feedback could be used for policy improvements and may also be useful for future reference.

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Our main focus in this research is to understand the effects of those features of social media. We
will start by describing results about the rise of social media on political participation effects in
domestic view and also international view.

2. The Effect Of Social Media In Voting.

The impact of the Internet on political participation and on voting outcomes in mature
democracies. The new telecommunication technology is now used for political purposes, and we
could find that the voters with access to the Internet have raised an interest in elections and
politics in general. New populist political actors have emerged who manage to mobilize voters
by connecting to them directly through the Internet.

Graph 1 shows the tweet from the youth about the 2018 election in Malaysia.

2.1 Effect of Social Media For Domestic Political View in Voting

For example, the internet consumer data from the 2018 elections in Malaysia show that growth in
the usage of social media has led to a substantial decline in Barisan Nasional political support for
the incumbent coalition and resulted in the fall of the ruling coalition’s after 60- year monopoly
of political power. The reason behind this fall is because the 1MDB scandal erupted in 2015, and
its implications have rippled throughout the election. Pakatan Harapan has linked 1MDB to cost
of living issues and corruption in its social media campaign messages, mobilising grassroots
support for good governance. The Internet has allowed for increased transparency by making it

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easier for citizens to perform fact-checks and background-checks, facilitating higher involvement
in civic issues.

During this 2018 campaign, Pakatan Harapan had already established a strong online presence
ever since the previous elections had left a greater impact on the youngster. Pakatan Harapan are
using and striking their presence in every social media platform to influence the younger and
first time voters during this election. The fact that 41% of almost 15 million voters are coming
from the ages of 21-39. Plus, despite a smaller election machinery, mass mobilisation via the
Internet enabled Pakatan Harapan to draw large crowds to their ad hoc campaign rallies across
the country, potentially swaying fence-sitter and consolidating votes amongst their supporters.

For instance, the campaign video showing Dr Mahathir Mohamad talking to a little girl about
saving the country resonated with many. Pakatan Harapan campaign content appeared more
sincere in the end and this is how Pakatan Harapan gained momentum and trust amongst the
youth voters through its manifesto and campaign strategies by using social media, both of which
reflected a vehement spirit for reform.

Graph 2 shows the data of how much the public have mentioned the candidates during the
election.

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 2.2 Effect of Social Media International Political View In Voting

A few papers examine how social media affects the voting outcomes. In the 2010 United State
congressional elections there were about 61 million people who participated in political debates
on Facebook. We could see the debates in the messages of the interest group about the election
and there is also a poll of voting of which candidates they would vote for and as mentioned
above there are about 61 million people who have joined it and vote for their favorite candidates.
The relationship between voting and exposure to the message about friends’ voting was stronger
for more intense user-to-user interactions.

Next is the impact of Twitter on political participation during the 2016 campaign United State
presidential elections. During 2016, we could notice how fast the candidates were promoted and
during this time also, all the information regarding the candidate either good or bad information,
has spread which has led to the consumer perception to voting about who they believe are
entitled to lead the country. Example in 2016 the Donald Trump campaign made an extensive use
of social media platforms, notably Twitter, to reach voters.

Graph 3 shows the tweet of Donald Trump during the 2016 US presidential campaign.

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From June 2015 to November 2016, supporters and opponents of Donald Trump and Hillary
Clinton carried out an Internet campaign to influence the 2016 United States presidential election
through various means as they tried to influence the public opinion.

Graph 4 shows the data of how much people have mentioned the 2016 presidential candidates.

Unlike other presidential candidates, Donald Trump extensively used social media platforms to
reach voters. His campaign coordinated with news outlets and public officials to promote his
message. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Centre, 78% of Trump's retweets
came from the general public. He also utilized Twitter during and after his 2016 presidential
election victory, claiming that social media helped him get elected.

Graph 5 shows the tweet of Donald Trump after he won the 2016 US presidential election.

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 3. The Effect Of Social Media In Protests

As it was easy for everyone to access on every social media platform, it makes all political issues
easier to spread. The rise of user of social media make an increase to the number of informed
people who are unhappy with their current government and potentially ready to take a part in
political protests or democration. Furthermore, the flow of information between users of social
media has allowed them to exchange every information about their upcoming events and
coordinate their tactics on the spot. This kind of information flow helps in solving the collective
action problem while increasing the chance of protests and probability that people who are ready
to participate in political protest.

3.1 Effect of Social Media For International Political View in Protest

A clear example that we could find is in the context of Egypt during the Arab Spring. Some
research has shown that the number of Twitter posts with the keywords related to Tahrir Square
was predictive to the number of the participants in the protest the next day in the plaza. In this
uproar issue they have concluded with the hypothesis that social media have helped coordinate
street protests. In a similar vein, it also shows that the increased coordination of messages on
Twitter by using specific hashtags was associated with increased protests the following day
during Arab Spring.

Graph 6 shows one of the protest tweets during the Arab Spring uproar.

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Another issue that can be related with this protest and social media is during 18 december 2020,
four days after the results of United States presidential elections were announced. The former
president Donald Trump has called for all his supporters to go for a protest or rally on 6 January
2021 in Washington D.C to continue his challenge of the results of the United States presidential
election. Donald Trump has tweeted in his Twitter account saying “Big protest in D.C on January
6th. Be there, it will be wild!”. This tweet has made all the Donald Trump supporters to disrupt
the court of the Electoral College ballots and call for violence against officials and law enforcers.
They have coordinated their plans through various websites and social media platforms.

Graph 7 shows the tweet of Donald Trump that is trying to disrupt the ballots.

3.2 Effect of Social Media For Domestic Political View In Protest

The most recent protest that has happened in Malaysia is in March 2020 in which Malaysia
government is facing international and national criticism over its arrest of pro-democracy
activists in the wake of political turmoil which brought the prime minister to resign from his
position. After a week of Malaysia political 2020 crisis, Tan Sri Dato Haji Muhyiddin has been
elected by Yang Dipertuan Agong to replace the prime minister position and has created an anger
toward many people since the elections are not based on democracy.

Following this event, the prominent lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri has tweeted in his Twitter
account saying that “Turun ke jalan, demokrasi mati”. She urges all Malaysians who are unhappy
regarding the result that was made by Yang Dipertuan Agong to protest it. She even told the
media “ It’s a coup, and it’s a betrayal of the people's mandate” and “the fact that the racists, the
kleptocrats, the corrupt are back in the game, makes people angry, disappointed, frustrated.

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That's why they feel the need to take to the streets”. This statement has been made by her and it
clearly shows that social media has played a big role in political protest. It is undeniable that
social media also could bring harmness in a political crisis. Overall, there is much convincing
evidence that low entry barriers for social media which has caused the rise of people's interest in
politics and the potential of how the information is spread has made social media a vehicle to
facilitate political protest.

Graph 8 shows the tweet from Fadiah Nadwa about the protest she will hold.

4. The effect of social media in political false news

As there are around 3.96 billion people who actively use social media in the world, the
probability of getting false information definitely will be higher. Besides, it is undeniable that
social media used to spread false news to people and it may include all aspects including politics
too. Social media is always associated with a major increase in the circulation of false news
stories. There are no systematic studies that show false news is more prevalent now than it was in
the past. However, the international media well before the internet era has already displayed false
rumors, fake stories and deliberate propaganda based on false facts to people. They are easily
manipulated by the news without doing detailed research.

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In Malaysia, we apply a parliamentary democracy system and people have to vote for only one
party that can be trusted and has integrity to lead our nation, Malaysia during the election
campaign. As we all know, there could be a hidden agenda and specific reason on why people
spread false news and sow slander about other people. In politics, the most probable intention
people spread fake and false news about other parties on social media is to spread detestation of
their competitors. Therefore, the netizen will incite hatred towards their party and turn away
from them. Nonetheless, this is not an appropriate way to get the voters and we called it a dirty
tactic. Thus, we must be transparent and truthful.

4.1 Effect of Social Media For International Political View in False News

Besides, it happened all over the world. Despite the fact that false news is very prevalent on
various platforms, it is still important to note that this phenomenon is not widely covered by the
media. The effect of social media in spreading false news in politics can be seen domestically
and internationally. For instance, there are documents that spread false news over social media
rapidly called Mocanu et al. (2015) during the 2012 election in Italy. They showed that
misinformation was most likely shared by users who were distrustful of the mainstream media.

Another clear example on the effect of social media towards politics in spreading false news also
can be spotted throughout the 2016 US election campaign. Allcott & Gentzkow (2017) reported
the spread of fake stories on Facebook. They identified 115 pro-Trump and 41 pro-Clinton false
stories circulating in the three months before the election and showed that they were widely
shared on Facebook. By using a postelection survey, Allcott & Gentzkow (2017) also show that
15% of survey respondents recalled seeing false news stories during the campaign, and 8%
recalled seeing a false story and acknowledged that they believed it. While the question
concerning exposure to placebo bogus news stories is erroneous, the authors' convincing
headlines generated a commotion among the citizens. However, it never went viral and received
nearly identical replies as a question regarding false news items that did go viral stated that only
14% of people said they had seen placebo tales, and 8% said they had seen and believed them.
This illustrates the limits of recall-based news consumption surveys. Overall, the authors
estimate that throughout the election, the average US voter was alerted to one or possibly several
misleading news sources.

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Meanwhile, Guess et al. (2018) look at how people were exposed to fake news during the 2016
presidential election in the United States. They compared Internet users' individual surfing
histories in the 30 seconds before visiting a fake news website and before accessing a legitimate
news website (as defined by Bakshy et al. 2015). They found a significant difference in
false-news and real-news consumers' browsing histories.

4.2 Effect of Social Media For Domestic Political View in False News

On the other side, the spread of false news in social media towards politics also happened in
Malaysia. Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) senior vice chairman Tan Sri Lee
Lam Thye said, “spreading false news could also cause panic among the community and could
threaten the country's peace”. Besides, the public is advised to not spread false news or rumors
about the current political situation as those actions could cause the situation to become more
complicated and worse if left unchecked. Let us see this issue through domestic views. These are
some examples of fake news after Malaysia parliament was dissolved.

In the rapid election of representatives to parliament and the State Legislative Assembly
(ADUN) after the dissolution of parliament on April 7 last year, there are various reports on
social media and no exception on false news too. For instance, the cash found in the vehicle of a
political leader. The news spread on social media claiming a sum of money was found in the car
belonging to a political leader that was involved in an accident in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The
Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) acted swiftly to dismiss a contagious message on social media
about the death of a Member of Parliament following the discovery of a sum of money found in
the vehicle. Ranau District Police Chief, DSP Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah denied the allegation.
He was quoted as saying, "this is fake news. When police checked the scene, they found no
money, either in the box or the vehicle itself".

Another example of false news occured over social media is when the representative asked
foreigners to be the voters. A video spread on social media yesterday claimed an assemblyman
representing a political party allegedly asked foreigners to vote for them. A video spread on
social media yesterday claimed an assemblyman representing a political party allegedly asked
foreigners to vote for them. The infectious video shows a man communicating with a man who is
said to be a stranger. However, the video distributed was not as claimed by the party distributing

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the content. What actually happened was that the man who was alleged to be a foreigner was a
local who suffered huge losses after his motorcycle shop caught fire in Petaling Jaya, Selangor
recently. Following the incident, representatives from the party donated funds worth RM3,000 to
the shop owner in the hope of reducing his burden.

To sum up, the literature shows that false news does spread through social media, and its spread
is faster and wider than that of true news. Future research needs to document how persuasive
false news is when exposure occurs on social media. The more people do the research, they will
find out that there is a lot of false information towards politics that could change public interest
about some political parties but sometimes it is not disclosed much to the public. Therefore, it is
important for us to do proper research and clear investigation when receiving any information
from social media. On the other hand, check the information from trusted websites and people.
Let us take some lessons from history and do a better improvement after this.

5. The Effects Of Social Media and Politicians Behaviour

Next, social media and politicians' behaviour are closely linked to each other. As a representative
of a party or becoming a leader, our images on social media play one of the most vital roles in
convincing people to have confidence in themselves towards you. Besides, it also represents your
credibility, and integrity because people will always look up to you whether this person is
eligible enough to be appointed as a leader. However, we also need to be careful because
sometimes people can fake their identity and personalization just to fulfill people’s requirements.

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On the other hand, the fact that social media and the Internet are used to enlighten citizens about
their governments in countries where there are few other sources of information has a direct
impact on politicians' behavior but of course, politicians are concerned about their social media
image. The question here is whether the change in behaviour benefits voters while also
improving political responsibility. According to a new analysis, social media influences our
political behaviour and puts pressure on our democracies. Social media's influence on our
political ideas and behaviours sometimes is putting our countries' democratic foundations under
strain. To be clear, as we all know this matter does not only occur in our country, Malaysia but it
is also applicable in other countries too. Let us see the effect of social media in politician’s
behaviour in international and domestic views.

5.1 Effect of Social Media For International Political View in Politician's Behavior

Bessone et al. (2019), investigate how lawmakers react when their constituents gain access to 3G
mobile technology. They indicate that politicians have become much more popular on Facebook,
and that voters in connected municipalities use Facebook to interact with politicians through
likes, shares, and comments. Besides, a shift in political involvement from online to offline
raises concerns about political responsibility. However, there is evidence that social media can
assist state-owned businesses improve their governance.

The question is whether this shift in behaviour benefits voters and hence improves political
accountability. Let us take a look at this example. Enikolopov et al. (2018) found that postings
about corruption in large state-controlled enterprises on a Russian blog were linked to
management turnover and improvements in corporate governance over time in addition to having
a significant effect on the stock market performance of those firms. Other than that, by using the
backdrop of political dialogues on Twitter in Spain, Greece, Germany, and the United Kingdom
in the run-up to the 2014 European Parliament elections, Theocharis et al. (2016) highlight
another difficulty with online communication between politicians and voters.

They demonstrate that in social media dialogues with open debate, uncivil behaviour, insults, and
harassment, mainly directed towards politicians, are highly widespread. In such an environment,
politicians are more likely to utilise social media as a one-way broadcasting tool without the
ability to comment than as a horizontal communication platform. Despite this constraint, Petrova

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et al. (2020) demonstrate that, at least in the short run, having a Twitter account helps candidates
for US Congress raise more campaign funds. Compared to experienced politicians, this effect is
larger for newbies to politics. The findings also show that the appearance of politicians on social
media has a greater effect on new donors.

5.2 Effect of Social Media For Domestic Political View in Politician's Behaviour

We agree that politicians who are good at controlling social media are able to change people’s
perception about the political world. For instance, Syed Saddiq who is a parliament member of
Muar, Johor shows good examples on his social media by always voicing out the solution
through social media such as Twitter and Instagram as a sign that he is concerned and takes part
in people’s problems especially for the youth generation. Today, he announced on his twitter
about the Muar SEJIWA Special Assistance Package especially for the people of Muar. 3
SEJIWA focus is on education, foodbank and Vaccination of Muar. His June salary and hundred
percent of his trading results are also for Muar. This is one of the good leaders that set a superb
example to people through social media and in reality too. His reputation on social media will
absolutely be good.

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Overall, the research shows that politicians use social media to engage with voters and that the
rise of social media has influenced their offline conduct. However, more research is needed
before definitive conclusions can be formed regarding how social media affects accountability in
ways other than elections and street protests. Therefore, use our social media in a very good way.

6. Conclusion

In a nutshell, nowadays social media is becoming one of the huge platforms to spread awareness
and any other announcement to people. Besides, we currently live in Movement Restrict Order
(MCO) conditions in which our movement is very limited because we cannot go out like usual,
no hangout and shopping anymore. We admit that it is kind of sad for us. However, we should
obey the rule and regulation given by the government to reduce this covid cases. When most
people are staying at home, the use of social media is becoming higher and higher as most of us
are currently working from home and doing the online distance learning (ODL).

Therefore, the influences of social media towards politics should be emphasized by all politicians
and also the citizens. Since the Internet and social media are accessible now, research on these
influences on politics and democratic institutions also becomes essential. Considering
communication technologies such as social media and the Internet may be used to convey a
variety of messages, it's not surprising that they can aid prodemocratic developments in certain
circumstances while also steering society away from democracy in others. According to the
literature, free Internet and social media increase accountability by informing the public and
aiding the planning of events in locations where the main public concerns are related to
corruption, subversion of authority, and control of conventional media by autocrats.

Several countries have lately passed legislation to prohibit hate speech transmission, and many
more policy suggestions are being considered. There may be a need for regulation, the private
ownership of social media networks' actions do not appear to go far enough limits on the spread
of hate speech and false information. However, research has failed to provide conclusive
evidence of solutions to policy. To sum up, as the young generation especially, we really need to
utilise the benefits of social media by using them for the good things besides finding methods to
help improve Malaysia’s economy and maintain our political stability.

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