PDRM Warns Social Media Users After TikTok Creators Use 13 May Incident To Conjure Hate
To make matters worse, some of the videos that exploited the 13 May incident were uploaded as paid partnership content.
By Aqasha Nalani — 22 Nov 2022, 12:18 PM — Updated about 2 years ago
The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) issued a statement yesterday, 21 November, urging the public to refrain from uploading and sharing social media content that discusses sensitive issues involving race and religion
The statement was issued in response to a surge in TikTok content following the 15th General Election (GE15), which exploits the 13 May incident to incite hatred among the platform's users.
"During GE15 and before the forming of the next federal government, we have warned social media users against uploading content that touches on racial and religious issues," said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani in the statement.
Acryl Sani went on to say that users who attempt to jeopardise public safety and order will face harsh penalties under the Communication and Multimedia Acts 1998 and the Penal Code.
Twitter users also chastised irresponsible TikTok content creators who exploited the 13 May incident to gain hundreds of thousands of views
Many of the videos were directed at Pakatan Harapan (PH) voters and questioned the religious beliefs of Malay-Muslims who voted for DAP, reported Malay Mail.
Some content creators also falsely claimed that if PH forms the federal government, DAP will have political dominance, while others created content with anti-Chinese messages and openly threatened violence.
To make matters worse, one Twitter user pointed out that some of those videos were uploaded as paid partnership content.
Meanwhile, PH leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has spoken out on the issue, expressing concern about content with racial overtones
"The work and efforts in forming a responsible and stable government should not be disturbed because Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli, and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak are brothers. They are the people of Malaysia who love peace," said Anwar, reported by Malaysiakini.
He also stated that he fully supports Acryl Sani's statement and urges the public not to spread such content.
TikTok has since released a statement regarding the incident
“At TikTok, we have zero tolerance against any form of hate speech and violent extremism. As it relates to May 13 content, we quickly removed videos which were in violation of our Community Guidelines," TikTok told SAYS.
TikTok also stated that they will remain on high alert and will aggressively remove any violative content, such as video, audio, livestream, images, comments, links, or other text.
They also encourage TikTok users and community members to use their in-app reporting function to report any harmful content as soon as possible.
"Since the lead-up to the elections, we have been in constant communication with the relevant bodies, including the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), about accounts that are involved in severe or repeated on-platform violations,” they said.
