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Call for abstracts: Fake News and Elections in Asia conference
31 December, 2018
Overview
A range of governments in Asia have introduced or have announced their intention to enact legislation to cover fake news. Traditionally “fake news” or one-sided propaganda have been generated by authoritarian governments who controlled local media and later introduced a variety of legislation to mitigate the flow of alternative information from websites and social media. The introduction of fake news bills targeting individual actors and alternative news portals is an evolution in the slew of legislation authoritarian regimes have been passing over the years against alternative content generated by online communications.
In Southeast Asia, Malaysia in April 2018 was the first country to pass a fake news bill. Two months, later when the country experienced a change in government, it announced a review of the said law. Other countries in Southeast Asia such as Duterte’s Philippines have also announced intentions to introduce fake news legislation and so has Cambodia. Meanwhile Singapore had a public consultation over a proposed fake news bill that resulted in negative publicity for the government over its aggressive cross-examining of several individuals who presented their submissions. In South Asia, India hastily withdrew legislation that would see journalists deemed to be spreading fake news lose their media accreditation. In Bangladesh the discussion has been around fake news fanning communal violence as the country prepares for polls later in 2018. Discussion around fake news bill have taken place across Asia in the run up to elections where sitting regimes argue that ‘fake news’ has the power to sway voters in during the campaign period as well as fan communal violence.
This argument has emerged following hotly debated voting results in other jurisdictions, notably following t 2016 US elections and the 2016 Brexit vote in the UK. Starting with the Malaysian elections in May 2018, understanding the relationship between fake news and elections that will be held over the next two years in Cambodia (2018), Bangladesh (2018), Thailand (possibly February 2019) and India (May-June 2019) and Indonesia general election (April 2019) therefore will be crucial. Overall early analysis shows that democracy, the rule of law and freedom of expression are the likely victims of these fake news bills.
This conference will examine the phenomenon of fake news and its use and abuse by governments, private entities and social media, the role of the citizen in the consumption of such ‘news’, the responsibility of media outlets and the emerging legislation around it and its impact on human rights.
Themes
The key issues that will be examined are as follows are:
- History of fake news by governments and media outlets
- Emerging laws and legislation to curb fake news
- Fake news and its ability to influence voter sentiment during elections
- Fake news and its role in fanning communal violence
- Fake news and the role of media owners, journalists and distributors of social media content
- Impact of fake news on democracy, rule of law and freedom of expression
Objectives
The conference aims to achieve the following objectives:
- Convene interested individuals and organizations researching fake news and elections in Asia
- Exchange information and trends around fake news legislation in Asia
- Review the impact of fake news legislation on democracy, rule of law and freedom of expression
- Advance knowledge of fake news legislation and its impact on human rights in Asia
Conference Structure
The conference will consist of thematic panels, country-specific discussions and a final plenary session which will be open to civil society groups, international organisations, government officials and the academic community to facilitate knowledge sharing and networking opportunities.
Conference Fee
This is a self-funded conference, hence a flat fee of USD$300 that will be charged to all keynote, paper and poster presenters and participants. This will go towards covering the cost of the venue, equipment and logistics, coffee breaks on all days, certificates for participants, conference communications and event organisation.
Submission Guidelines
Researchers wishing to present papers are invited to submit a title, an abstract in English of 300-350 words along with a biographical paragraph of 100 words to contact@asiacentre.org. Full papers should be 5000 words.
Poster presentations
Limited space is available for 4 to 5 poster presentations. Your presentation may be submitted in Word / PDF format to the Asia Centre for consideration. A 60×80 cm poster will be printed and displayed during the conference. Full conference fees apply.
Online Participation
Due to the stability and band width of internet connection available, we are unable to accommodate online presentations and participation.
Target Audience
The conference is open to participants from academic institutions, businesses, national and regional civil society organisations, international NGOs and intergovernmental organisations to facilitate knowledge sharing and networking opportunities.
Deadlines
Abstract Submission: open from 1 July 2018 until 31 st December 2018
Notification of acceptance of abstracts: on a rolling basis
Payment of conference fees: on acceptance of abstracts
Full paper submission: latest 30 May 2019
Source: https://asiacentre.org/event/fake-news-and-elections-in-asia/
