the value of tone when communicating: “When you put forward fact checking with a tone of ‘Here, you idiots,’ it’s of no use. There is an emotional conversation that is happening around it. And there is no point in addressing fact checking without addressing that emotion” (interview, 2021). ECHO CHAMBERS, CONFIRMATION BIAS, FILTER BUBBLES, AND POLARIZATION The concept of “echo chambers” refers to an environment where an individual only encounters news, opinions, and information that support their own narratives and belief systems (Villa, Pasi, and Viviani 2021). Echo chambers lead to confirmation bias, where the individual only believes in narratives that support their beliefs and opinions (Wardle and Derakhshan 2017). Vigneswara Ilavarasan spoke about an example of confirmation bias that perpetuates information disorder along religious and racial divides in India. He explained the bias evident in the way that different TV channels report on religious gatherings of Hindus and Muslims: Depending on the bias, the narrative presented would either praise the religious gathering or accuse the event of spreading Covid-19 (interview, 2021). Echo chambers can exist in both offline and online environments. But digital or online echo chambers have a higher tendency to support confirmation bias, with people being unprepared to or unwilling to discuss complex topics that go against their narratives. Digital echo chambers that revolve around social media are far more efficient that offline echo chambers in creating closed-off environments that promote information disorder (Bârgăoanu et al. 2019; Meel and Vishwakarma 2020). Further, social media and the online world in general easily create filter bubbles, a type of echo chamber created by algorithms that track a person’s online behavior and customize what that person encounters based on previous online behavioral patterns (Christopoulou 2019). This can increase the chances of an individual falling into the trap of confirmation bias and remaining unaware of content and ideas that oppose their point of view on a topic. Gehan Gunatilleke explained how this can manifest by using Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy as an example: A lot of average people are quick to forward something that reaffirms their biases. So, if someone’s having doubts about the effectiveness of vaccines, or whether vaccines can be dangerous, and they get some crazy forward from their unI N FO R M ATI O N D I SO R D ER IN THE GLOBA L SOUTH cle [which] resonates with what they’re already suspecting, they’re [going to] say, “Yeah, I knew this,” and then forward [it] to another hundred people. So I think this awareness doesn’t necessarily stop people from spreading false content. (interview, 2021) Echo chambers fuel polarization in societies, as due to a lack of exposure to multiple points of view people are not made aware of different perspectives on a particular topic. Rema Rajeshwari noted that this fuels racial, religious, and caste-based discrimination in India, as it promotes negative stereotypes (interview, 2021). Polarization can also limit constructive public discourse, which is essential for healthy democracies (Damasceno 2021). LACK OF TRUST IN JOURNALISTS AND FACT CHECKERS In many countries in the region, there is a general distrust of traditional means of obtaining news and information, such as through TV or newspapers. This leads to lack of trust in journalists and fact checkers, and has an impact on how fact checks and the credibility In many countries in the of journalists and fact checkers are region, there is a general perceived by society (Balod and distrust of traditional Hameleers 2019). means of obtaining Sometimes, there are legitimate news and information, reasons for this tendency, as such as through TV or mistakes made by mainstream media have been brought to the newspapers. public’s attention more than ever before because of the internet and social media. However, social media have also contributed to the issue, as explained by Ayesha Binte Towhid: For many people, there is a kind of discomfort with the mainstream media. However, [on] alternative media platforms there are plenty of fascinating conspiracy theories [to] which they feel emotionally attached. This often leads people to doubt if the mainstream media [are] hiding information and question why [they are] not covering all the news trending on social media. This makes them fall for the misinformation and disinformation they see on Facebook or receive via WhatsApp. (interview, 2021) According to Yvonne Chua, in the Philippines, Some in the general public tend to brand traditional media as disinformation or fake news. Even if it’s an honest mistake, you will see some people or [especially] some netizens automatically branding traditional media as fake news. And that has partly to do with the playbook Asia – 2 32