Thailand lags ‘because of junta role’ in social media

[webfact]

Thailand lags ‘because of junta role’ in social media

By WASAMON AUDJARINT 
THE NATION 

 

 

FORUM ON FAKE NEWS IN SE ASIA HEARS ABOUT CHALLENGES TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

 

WHILE MANY Asian countries have discussed the “post-truth” political phenomenon in the social media era, Thailand appears to be a few steps behind as it struggles with freedom of expression in an undemocratic atmosphere, a symposium heard on Friday.

 

“The reason why Thais are among the highest social media users is because we have nowhere else to go,” Bhokin Bhalakula, a former deputy prime minister and Pheu Thai Party member said at the forum.

 

While robust social engagement could be an opportunity for politicians – as it was for Yingluck Shinawatra, who had more than 1 million Facebook fans – Bhokin said social media use had become obligatory in Thailand in recent years under the rule of the junta.

 

While the 2017 charter endorses people’s rights and freedoms, including the freedom of expression, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) in practice curbs public opinion, especially on politics, through its enforcement of laws and junta orders.

 

Because the NCPO prevented political gatherings of five or more people after the 2014 coup, social media platforms, particularly Facebook, Twitter and Line, have become places where the public chooses to gather legally.

 

Yet more intense enforcement of the laws – especially the Computer Crime Act and the sedition and lese majeste laws – have put pressure on social media users and administrators. Consequently, many people have had their accounts shut down or even been prosecuted for allegedly breaking these laws.

 

Bhokin said this landscape, together with the junta-written legal mechanisms of the parliamentary system, was an indicator of the tough path ahead for Thailand in terms of achieving democracy.

 

“This is all in contrast to the push for the Thailand 4.0 era, which would require an open society,” he said. “The worry is always about how laws and regulations will be interpreted and enforced.”

 

A former Democrat Party MP, Kiat Sittheeamorn, said while he believed in freedom of speech, official political parties should be regulated to some extent.

 

Kiat said this was to make sure that resources used by parties were not fraudulent, which could result in the spread of fake news.

 

“Social media platforms have a very crucial function in providing information, interaction and mobilising activities. They have become more powerful for spreading messages and shaping public agendas,” he said. 

 

“Still, the challenge remains with fake news. It’s a job that we have to commit to, to ensure fair competition among all political players.”

 

With the two Thai politicians emphasising the power of social media, the rest of the panel’s speakers – from academic and media backgrounds – focused on dealing with accountability and the influx of information.

 

Eugene Tan, associate professor of law at Singapore Management University, said building “trust in information” could help with the challenge of sustaining democratic legitimacy in terms of freedom of speech.

 

Tan said the government must make reliable information available, and the public needed to be able to trust official sources of information.

“Even as governments try to protect society, they have to remain resilient about competing and conflicting ideas,” he said. “The use of legislation is an easy tool, but whether it works [in the long term] remains to be seen. Politicians also need to be mindful that intrusions on free speech can be a means of censorship and curbing public dissent.”

 

Marketing blogger Nuttaputch Wongreanthong said social media had empowered individuals by giving them more access to, and the ability to distribute, information and lessened the media monopoly. However, social media also left more room to undermine the public via tailor-made messages online.

 

“Social media algorithms are advanced tools. Businessmen love this because they can personalise messages to fit their customers,” Nuttaputch said. “This could also be used for political purposes.”

 

Noting how messages were politically distorted during the pre-coup political crisis in Thailand, Nuttaputch said there was a need to regulate and support media literacy to protect and help the public in dealing with fake information.

 

Endy Bayuni, the Jakarta Post’s senior editor, said Indonesia, as Southeast Asia’s biggest country, was another large social media hub, and that victories and losses in elections there had been determined by social media in many cases.

 

Indonesia had its share of fake news and hoaxes, which had been intentionally produced for political purposes, Bahuni said.

 

While the police appeared to be cautious in enforcing cyber laws, Indonesian media had also noticed that the law could be used to suppress freedom, he added.

 

Friday’s symposium was organised by the Asia News Network (ANN) as part of the launch of its website, asianews.network.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/asean-plus/30341205

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-19

[YetAnother]

16 minutes ago, webfact said:

“Even as governments try to protect society, they have to remain resilient about competing and conflicting ideas,” he said

must be referring to some anti-thailand

[Samui Bodoh]

Social media is a double-edged sword.

 

Used one way, it is a valuable tool in bringing people together and disseminating information to places where it never reached before.

 

Used another way, it is a tool for oppression and stupidity.

 

It is up to societies to teach their members how to use it responsibly and how not to abuse it.

 

Almost twenty years ago I was doing a Masters degree and one of my Profs stated that the internet was going to to be the true test of our species. At the time I thought that it was a bit ridiculous, but now I think he was being prescient.

 

 

Edited March 19, 2018 by Samui Bodoh
Lack of coffee

[JAG]

"Fake News" is far from being the exclusive preserve of social media, although on other platforms it is more commonly referred to as "Government announcements", particularly when referring to what a third party or foreign governments are claimed to have said!

 

The real problem is that try as they do the junta regime can neither control nor understand social media. The only solution would be to shut it down - and they dare not do that...

[YetAnother]

38 minutes ago, webfact said:

Thailand lags ‘because of junta role’

better article title

[Lungstib]

With the govt and army running the main TV channels "news" for many years was just a replay of all the things they wanted you to believe. Investigation and criticism was never heard. With TV so unquestioning it was bound to send young Thais looking for other answers which they found on the internet. Thailand has the awful tradition of banning things not because they are untruthful but because they are not what they want people talking about. Hence the truth of the comment below;

13 minutes ago, JAG said:

"Fake News" is far from being the exclusive preserve of social media, although on other platforms it is more commonly referred to as "Government announcements"

Trying to find an impartial judge for 'the truth' here is not going to be easy.

[anon537687643]

From Products to services and certainly Television and Social Media the whole place is censored


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Lupatria]

55 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

  1 hour ago, webfact said:

Thailand lags ‘because of junta role’

That post will probably be used by them to explain what they think fake news is.

[Samui Bodoh]

49 minutes ago, Lungstib said:

With the govt and army running the main TV channels "news" for many years was just a replay of all the things they wanted you to believe. Investigation and criticism was never heard. With TV so unquestioning it was bound to send young Thais looking for other answers which they found on the internet. Thailand has the awful tradition of banning things not because they are untruthful but because they are not what they want people talking about. Hence the truth of the comment below;

Trying to find an impartial judge for 'the truth' here is not going to be easy.

"...Trying to find an impartial judge for 'the truth' here is not going to be easy..."

 

You make an excellent point. 

 

The answer to the dilemma is simply one of education. A well-educated person is able to discern the difference between fact and opinion and render judgement on the opinion side of the equation.

 

The difficulty is that in Thailand, students aren't being equipped with the intellectual skills/tools to discern fact from fiction; to do so requires critically questioning all that is taught and seen, and that kind of thinking is actively discouraged.

 

The real question is will Thailand have the courage to equip its younger generation(s) with the tools required for the future? At the moment, the answer seems to be 'No'. This resistance to the idea of better, critical education will have terrible implications for the future.

 

[RichardColeman]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

and that victories and losses in elections there had been determined by social media in many cases.

Exactly why it lags behind

[JAG]

35 minutes ago, Samui Bodoh said:

"...Trying to find an impartial judge for 'the truth' here is not going to be easy..."

 

You make an excellent point. 

 

The answer to the dilemma is simply one of education. A well-educated person is able to discern the difference between fact and opinion and render judgement on the opinion side of the equation.

 

The difficulty is that in Thailand, students aren't being equipped with the intellectual skills/tools to discern fact from fiction; to do so requires critically questioning all that is taught and seen, and that kind of thinking is actively discouraged.

 

The real question is will Thailand have the courage to equip its younger generation(s) with the tools required for the future? At the moment, the answer seems to be 'No'. This resistance to the idea of better, critical education will have terrible implications for the future.

 

It's an optimistic view, but perhaps unrestricted access to a variety of opinions and information may lead the younger generation to develop such skills themselves? I personally, optimistically, think I detect some signs of that happening.

 

Now that really would frighten some people. Talk about putting the toothpaste back in the tube...

[Anak Nakal]

I hope that youth people learn the skills to get good information, but I don't know if they are allowed.

[trainman34014]

''A few steps behind '' ...  Must be the understatement of the year so far !

[Lungstib]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

(NCPO) in practice curbs public opinion, especially on politics, through its enforcement of laws and junta orders.

They just enforce even more stringently what has been applied for years and Lese Majeste and the  defamation law can not sit alongside 'free speech'. Till they are stricken there is no hope.

[chama]

13 hours ago, JAG said:

"Fake News" is far from being the exclusive preserve of social media, although on other platforms it is more commonly referred to as "Government announcements", particularly when referring to what a third party or foreign governments are claimed to have said!

 

The real problem is that try as they do the junta regime can neither control nor understand social media. The only solution would be to shut it down - and they dare not do that...

The junta fears the social media outlets as they are capable of rallying anti-government groups, aid them in organizing, and moving forward to achieving a democratic form of government. On the other hand if the junta were to learn to use these platforms more effectively they could employe them to garner support for their programs. Many sheepole believe anything they are told on these platforms even if common sense should tell them that what they are reading is totally ridiculous. Unfortunately some of the junta's plans do not align well with the long term benefit of the average Thai and those who are paying attention may leverage anything put out to call attention to this fact.

[YetAnother]

14 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Social media is a double-edged sword.

 

Used one way, it is a valuable tool in bringing people together and disseminating information to places where it never reached before.

 

Used another way, it is a tool for oppression and stupidity.

 

It is up to societies to teach their members how to use it responsibly and how not to abuse it.

 

Almost twenty years ago I was doing a Masters degree and one of my Profs stated that the internet was going to to be the true test of our species. At the time I thought that it was a bit ridiculous, but now I think he was being prescient.

 

 

true enough, quoted in full; an ideologic drama; 

pity tho, there are those among us and inviting some qualified and wanting thais,...

that might wage a spirited and intellectually high grade debate on the current state  of thailand and the near state ;

pity we are waging an intellectual battle; the opposition power, ultimately resides in the streets

[spidermike007]

Thailand lags far behind on so many levels due to the Junta. Not just the social media arena. The entire administration is populated by incredibly corrupt men and women, who are fabulously incompetent, and have very little experience in their supposed area of expertise.

 

Go now. Get out. You are not wanted. Get out. Leave. Resign. Hold elections. Leave. Get out, get out, get out!