Table 1: Press freedom in the Asian region (Source: RSF 2021) Table 2: Freedom in the Asian region (Source: Freedom House 2021a) Color code Good situation Countries and regions 1 None Satisfactory situation South Korea, Taiwan Problematic situation Bhutan, Japan, Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal Difficult situation Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan Very serious situation Laos, Singapore, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Vietnam Status Country/Territory Free Japan, Mongolia, South Korea, Taiwan Partly free Bangladesh, Bhutan, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka Not free Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam The geographical scope of this study includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. We end the report by offering recommendations for future interventions. In summary, our main recommendations for interventions and further study are the following: • Funding: There is a need for sustainable, longterm funding for those who work in this space. Currently, funding for fact checking and media and digital literacy programs tends to be short term and project-based. • Certification: The verification resource pool representing the region for International FactChecking Network (IFCN) certification could be expanded and made more accessible. • Technological tools and techniques: Many local languages are underserved by these tools. Hence, there is a need to develop tools with local language needs in mind. • Evaluation of impact: This area is understudied, and many of those working to combat information disorder do not have tools to measure the impact of their work. More research and practical applications are needed here. I N FO R M ATI O N D I SO R D ER IN THE GLOBA L SOUTH • Media and digital literacy programs: These programs need to be worked into the education system, and tailored to target vulnerable populations. • Collaboration: Different actors (fact checkers, academics, policymakers, those engaged in digital literacy training) should collaborate with each other to make interventions more holistic. • Awareness: Promoting public awareness of the problem of information disorder is crucial. • The dangers of legal interventions: Care must be taken to prevent legal responses from leading to censorship and the criminalization of dissent, which are themselves drivers of information disorder. 2. THE ECOSYSTEM OF INFORMATION DISORDER The factors driving information disorder have always been a part of human civilization, but the speed at which information disorder spreads and the ability of disseminators to target larger audiences have increased rapidly in recent times (Carson and Fallon 2021). Consequently, information disorder has the potential to affect many areas of public life, including politics, the marketplace, health communication, journalism, education, and science, which has led to the topic receiving increased attention in recent years (Greifeneder et al. 2021). Asia – 1 93