05-07-2025
Tweet and sour
MARIE Abdullah remembers her school days fondly – a time when friendships cut across race and background.
'We were as thick as thieves,' says the 28-year-old event organiser from Kuala Lumpur.
But today, she's troubled by what she sees on social media.
'Some of my old friends post things that are downright incendiary. One will openly use slurs when discussing certain issues. Others jump in to oppose them and retaliate in the same manner.
'We were friends. But now I'm thinking about unfriending them. What they write is just too disheartening to read,' she says.
Marie's experience reflects a wider trend: social media, once seen as a bridge, is now becoming a wedge.
Online polarisation – fuelled by identity politics, misinformation, and algorithmic echo chambers – is fraying the social fabric.
The issue took centre stage at the International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS) in Singapore last week. In his keynote address, Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah warned that the very tools meant to connect the people are doing the opposite.
'The very technologies that promise inclusion can entrench exclusion. Our information ecosystems have become battlegrounds. Algorithms have the unfortunate habit of trapping us in digital echo chambers – feeding prejudice and starving nuance.
'This results in fragmentation, a kind of online tribalism. Information, while accessible, is becoming decentralised.'
Sultan Nazrin Shah warned that the very tools meant to connect the people are doing the opposite. — Bernama
Digital divides
Sultan Nazrin noted that while more than five billion people now have access to the Internet, this unprecedented connectivity has not translated into greater unity.
'Digital platforms shape public discourse and private thought. The impact on our economies, our politics and even on our minds is transformative.
'The pandemic was a watershed moment in our living history, not least in how it accelerated our virtual connectedness. It brought wide-ranging digital communities into our very living rooms. We conducted schooling, office work, legal trials, and endless group quizzes on screens.'
He said virtual spaces had promised inclusion and a shared global experience like never before and for a time, it felt real.
'Societal cohesion was reshaped by a dynamic online global community, one held together by innovations both marvellous and challenging.'
Still, he warned that these benefits come at a serious cost.
'Our digital spaces, which should be so good at opening doors and minds, are instead responsible for closing them. Online hate rises, as does the spread of conspiracy theories, the propagation of extremist ideologies and even violence.
'And with truth itself now up for grabs – with the rise of fake news – trust in institutions and in each other breaks down.
'The very real dangers of this were realised last summer in the UK, for example, in the race riots that followed the tragic murders in Southport.
'The fabric of our social cohesion is being unravelled in the digital realm. And so it is there also that we must focus our efforts to weave it back together.'
A 2024 University of California study supports this concern. It found that 80% of youth aged 10 to 18 had encountered hate speech on social media in the prior month.
The most common forms were gender-based hate (72%), race or ethnicity-based hate (71%) and religious hate (62%).
The study also noted a spike in hate speech reports after the Oct 7 Hamas attack and Israel's military genocide in Gaza, much of it centred on religious identity.
A separate report published by the Council on Foreign Relations stated that online hate speech has been linked to a global increase in violence towards minorities, including mass shootings, lynching, and ethnic cleansing, and that policies to deter such speech are 'inconsistently enforced'.
Weaponising social media
Prof Farish A. Noor, political scientist at the International Islamic University of Indonesia, says social media's adverse effects are now a global threat and one that no society is immune to.
'No country is exempt from this. Even the most ethnically homogeneous societies still have to address social cohesion. And so states have a role to play in keeping in check these communicative technologies that we have, like social media, which have been weaponised.
'I still don't understand why people cannot see that social media can be weaponised. It's evident that it's used as a weapon to create animosity and to foster hatred, contempt, and fear between groups.'
Farish says social media's adverse effects are now a global threat and one that no society is immune to. — UIII
He says Muslims, in particular, have faced decades of Islamo-phobia that continues to be amplified online.
'Muslims have been victims of Islamophobia for the last 20 to 30 years and a lot of such hate continues to be generated through social media, media and popular culture.
'Whatever prejudice that you may see or suffer from is often engineered. Prejudice, in this sense, is not a natural thing. Someone engineers it. You engineer it by creating false stereotypes.
'You demonise people – entire communities or belief systems – and it's done normally for political purposes. We need to be very wary of that.'
While many balk at the idea of controlling social media, Farish believes limits and responsibilities must exist.
'At least there has to be some means to teach people how to be responsible when they use it. You can't simply incite religious or ethnic hatred and say, 'Oh, it's just a joke.'
'It's not a joke – because it spills out into something very real,' says Farish.
'And it has very real consequences. And when that happens, people blame the state for not doing anything. So the states – governments – are in a very awkward position. If they intervene, people say you're censoring. If you don't intervene, they say you let it happen.'
Getting back on track
One group trying to reverse this tide is Projek57, a Malaysian non-governmental organisation promoting unity in the face of divisive narratives.
At the ICCS, Projek57 executive director Debbie Choa shared how the organisation uses its Unity Ribbon campaign to start conversations.
'We are actually from the business community. We collaborate as a social enterprise with businesses and raise awareness by selling our Unity Ribbon pins. We have sold about half a million with support from several organisations.
'This in turn helps us spread a positive narrative on unity, since on social media there's a lot of negativity right now. If everyone comes together with the same kind of narrative, there is hope that Malaysia can move forward.
'Not just Malaysia – I think globally now this message is much needed, right? That we need to be good neighbours.'
Choa says education can also help bridge gaps early. She recalls a recent Projek57 event in Bera, Pahang, where students of different backgrounds, including national schools, a private school and Orang Asli children, came together for a Unity Ribbon activity.
'There was a Malay school counsellor attached to a Chinese school there. He connected us to other national schools nearby. We also brought in students from a private school, as well as some Orang Asli students.
'Can you imagine all these kids in the same space? They normally don't meet each other.
'Initially it was a bit of a culture shock. They were shy. But we played some games and got them to participate in creating the unity ribbons.'
What happened next amazed her.
'They could talk about how they feel when working with each other and getting to know each other. Imagine if they are studying in the same school.'
Colin Swee, Projek57's co-founder, says reconnecting with people on the ground is crucial to understanding the social fabric. One of their initiatives includes cycling across the country to meet people from all walks of life.
Choa recalls a simple but meaningful encounter: 'There was a Makcik selling banana fritters,' she begins.
When the woman was told what Projek57 was about, Choa says that 'she said, 'Kami anak Malaysia' [we are children of Malaysia] It was so cute. That's how we aspire to live together.'
Swee says he has also spoken to former servicemen who fought during the communist insurgency.
'These ex-servicemen didn't do it because of their pay. They were willing to make sacrifices for the country.'
To a question about what drives the movement, Choa says: 'And how do we change our own lenses, right? I think reconciliation – having a reconciliation mindset – is not only about forgiving others, but also about how we look at ourselves.'
