Spotlight: Social Media in Southeast Asia Echo Chambers and a Sectarian Public Sphere in Southeast Asia Ross Tapsell examines how ‘echo chambers’ online are segregating the public sphere in Southeast Asia. T he term ‘echo chamber’ has been popularised in recent times to describe the shifting state of news consumption brought about by digitalisation. A media ‘echo chamber’ is where people tend to migrate towards information and news which they agree with. In practical terms, this is done by clicking on headlines and following news sites and opinionmakers who conform to one’s worldview. At the same, ‘echo chambers’ are exemplified by removing oneself from social media groups or news sites which do not conform to your political, cultural or ideological views. The precise impact of ‘echo chambers’ is contested by scholars, and indeed highly variable according an individual’s willingness to expand or reduce their information flows. It is possible, of course, for someone to have a wide view of the world simply by being on Twitter, for example, by following a range of people and news sites. It is equally possible for someone to be active on Twitter or Facebook but subscribe only to sites which are of the same political persuasion, and therefore their idea of a topic or issue is quite narrow. In Southeast Asia, ‘echo chambers’ online can be exploited around religious and ethnic divisions. Just recently, Reuters uncovered “more than 1,000 examples of posts, comments images and videos denigrating and attacking the Rohingya and other Muslims” on Facebook. In Indonesia, there has 14 — ISSUE 5/2018 been much discussion about online ‘wars’ of ‘buzzers’ who look to push partisan viewpoints, most notably the socalled Muslim Cyber Army. The group has been accused of spreading “fake news and hate speech to inflame religious and ethnic schisms.” These partisan groups are aiming to incite and enrage readers online in order to push their political or ideological agenda, and those audiences who are heavily in their ‘bubble’ are arguably more likely to be convinced of their views. As more and more young Southeast Asians get their news solely from social media platforms like Facebook, the greater the power of the platform to play a larger role in influencing their worldviews. In the Philippines, described as ‘a Facebook nation,’ social media commentators who provide ‘alternative’ news and views on Facebook are highly popular, and their support for current President Duterte was crucial in his 2016 election campaign. Big data analytics can exacerbate this situation, particularly around election time. Big data analytics enables us to better understand the nuances of particular groups online. For example, a big data company could ascertain that female workers in Johor, Malaysia would largely vote for a party which has a policy to reduce immigration to the state. The