to a viral video of a Muslim man being assaulted (Perrigo 2021). India has also permanently banned TikTok, stating that the app was “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order” (Reuters 2021). Singapore’s POFMA has sparked some controversy since it took effect in October 2019, as it gives the government the power to instruct platforms to remove or correct untrue statements “against the public interest” (BBC News 2019a). Various parties have raised concerns about the Act. Facebook has said that it is concerned that the government rather than fact checkers will determine accuracy (Mandhana and Dvorak 2019). In December 2019 Lim Tean, an opposition politician, was asked to rectify a Facebook post on the topic of foreign students receiving more funding than home students. In his defense, he stated: “It is clear to me that POFMA is being used by this government ahead of the upcoming GE (general election) to silence its opponents and chill public discussion of unpopular government policies” (Aravindan 2019). Furthermore, Ruslan Myatiev observed that credible journalists and media organizations have been the targets of seemingly organized attempts to shut down their Facebook and Google accounts through complaint channels (interview, 2021). One of the authors of this report, Azamat Ababakirov, who is from Kyrgyzstan, has observed that some Kyrgyz journalists complain on social media about their inability to receive verification on Facebook (indicated by a blue verification badge next to the page or profile). The restoration of a blocked account can take weeks, often during critical political events. Most recently, Kloop’s YouTube channel was cancelled by Google on the eve of the parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, only to be restored after the elections (Roziev 2021). If platforms worked with local networks of journalists and media organizations to ensure their ability to function uninterrupted, this could play a critical role in countering harmful content. It is difficult to say with certainty whether social media companies will be able to find concrete solutions to the issue of information disorder on their platforms. On the one hand, it is clear that they are taking action. On the other hand, it is hard to measure the extent to which they have succeeded. What they can do is to continue to improve their systems and invest in both technology and human resources in the fight against information disorder. I N FO R M ATI O N D I SO R D ER IN THE GLOBA L SOUTH 3.4 ACTIONS TAKEN BY FUNDERS AND NETWORKS Countering information disorder requires the support of regional and global networks, donors, and funders. These are mostly tech companies, international funding agencies, or governmentaffiliated organizations (Amazeen 2017; Graves 2016). Based on the information obtained during the interviews held for this study, this support can be in the form of: • providing funding to sustain fact checking, media literacy programs, and training of journalists and fact checkers • providing access to fact-checking tools and methodologies • providing access to training and capacitybuilding programs on information disorder and fact checking • developing and maintaining industry standards and guidelines • contributing to research and policy development on information disorder. The key funders mentioned during our interviews are the IFCN, Google, Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo News, the NED, the OSF, the APC, the UNDP, UNICEF, USAID, the US State Department, the EU, the Soros Foundation Kazakhstan, and local NGOs (in Bangladesh). Jean-Jacques Sahel referred to types of activities that Google has focused on: “We are particularly keen to do literacy work and training. So we do a lot of fact-checking training and digital literacy training for people like journalists, academics, and researchers, including government researchers” (interview, 2021). Google works in collaboration with governments, civil society groups, and academia to offer training, facilitate research, and influence policy creation. Sahel further stated: In Southeast Asia, Google has partnered with local NGOs and schools. It’s not just about misinformation; often the problem [is linked to] other issues like intolerance and hate speech. So, in Indonesia, we are trying to teach students how they can use online tools, both to do fact checking and express themselves and express tolerant views. (interview, 2021) Dulamkhorloo Baatar of the Mongolian Fact Checking Center expressed enthusiasm about joining Facebook’s third-party fact checkers, and also expressed gratitude for being approached by Facebook to do so (interview, 2021). According Asia – 2 1 4