“Bait” from populist rhetoric
At the 12th Central Conference (13th tenure), the Party Central Committee decided to discipline a number of former high-ranking Party leaders. This strong and decisive action proves that the Party's fight against corruption, negativity and degradation has "no forbidden zones, no exceptions, regardless of who the person is". The strictness of Party discipline and the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement in Party building and rectification; the fight against corruption demonstrate the strength and effectiveness of deterrence and warning. However, on cyberspace, the terrorist organization "Viet Tan" and many accounts of reactionary subjects immediately carried out a campaign of propaganda, attacks, defamation and sabotage.
They spread the word that “there are no comrades in the Party, only interests and power”. They organized the so-called “Forum of the Dream of Renewal” with the participation of many people who called themselves “scholars”, “researchers”… to distort the work of cadres and human resource training with populist language, deceiving public opinion. The 12th Central Conference (term XIII) demonstrated a very high spirit of solidarity and unity within the Party in preparing for the 14th National Party Congress, planning strategic policies with a vision to 2045, 2050 and beyond. To distort, incite opposition, and sabotage the spirit of solidarity and unity within the Party, “Viet Tan” immediately called for and promoted the formation of a so-called “ political opposition force” with the distorted argument that “every country needs a political opposition”. They distorted perceptions by spreading the word that “ political opposition is a lever to promote social development”…
Illustration photo / tuyengiao.vn |
It is easy to recognize this as a populist tactic of "Viet Tan". Populism is not a new trick. It has appeared in the politics of some Western countries as a form of election campaign, appealing to popular emotions. In Vietnam, it has been used by reactionary forces as a cover to promote instability, incite protests, and deny the leadership role of the Party. In the digital age, this trick is even more dangerous when upgraded with AI, deepfake, chatbots, behavioral data analysis... creating a virtual space but real impact. Many Facebook accounts of reactionary subjects (typically Le Trung Khoa) have used AI to create clips with realistic images and voices; chatbots to create fake sympathetic comments, making the recipient think that it is a popular opinion, thereby being caught up in the flow of negative emotions.
In closed groups on social networks, especially Telegram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok..., anti-government elements often organize methodical campaigns, such as creating fake events, exaggerating real conflicts, connecting with a number of disgruntled individuals to create hot spots. Then, the entire campaign is promoted by a "chorus" of satellite accounts, some citing evidence, some crying, some criticizing..., all creating a picture with a strong "righteous" color that readers and viewers without courage can easily believe and follow. What is alarming is that populist messages are no longer just general statements about “freedom” and “democracy” but are concretized into calls for “returning justice to those who have lost their jobs”, “fighting vested interests in the apparatus”, “demanding transparency in administrative reform”... When placed in the overall media campaign of hostile forces, these contents are like sugar-coated arrows, hitting directly at the trust of a part of the people in the country's political system.
This trick is currently sophisticated in that it targets real social events but deliberately distorts the cause and nature. For example, when some buses and trains carrying cadres, civil servants, and public employees to work in the early days of operating the two-tier local government model were empty, they were immediately distorted, pushed up into the so-called "civil servants on strike" and then called for standing up to protest and oppose. It can be seen that "digital populism" is both the goal and the means used by hostile forces as a type of "bait" of political ideology. Every day, every hour, cyberspace is flooded with this type of "bait". When someone "takes the bait", especially the social media accounts of famous people with a large number of followers, immediately countless virtual accounts created by AI will jump in, flocking to interact, spread, creating a "black" media effect, "dirty" media effect...
The common point of “digital populist” media campaigns is that they are always associated with the name of “patriotism”, “accompanying the nation”, closely following important domestic political events to incite sabotage. From social media accounts to closed groups on new media platforms, all wear the guise of “for the people”, “protecting justice”, “criticizing policies”. Some individuals who emerge as “civil rights” symbols praised by reactionary media, in fact have close ties to reactionary organizations such as “Viet Tan”, “Provisional National Government of Vietnam”, or receive funding from non-governmental organizations with shady political connections.
Activities of “independent charity” and “support for unemployed workers” have also been transformed into propaganda tools. Clips recording the distribution of gifts and small change in places where people are in difficulty or in distress due to natural disasters, fires, etc. are elaborately staged, with sad music and calls: “Where is the government when people are in distress?”, “If it weren’t for us, they would starve to death”… This is a trick that directly appeals to the emotions of vulnerable people to distort the role of the government, spreading a mentality of supporting “civil society”…
Recently, the reactionary organization “Viet Tan” released the so-called “Document 50”, distorting the country’s renovation process with a spiteful tone, distorting reality, and labeling the Party’s policies as “plots to consolidate dictatorial power”. In this so-called “document”, concepts such as “energy transition”, “digital transformation”, “building two-level local governments” were all overturned, considered “institutional manipulation”, “monopolizing power”… They even impersonated documents of the National Assembly, cut and pasted from mainstream newspapers, in order to create the feeling that it was “a voice from within the apparatus” to deceive public opinion.
By combining populist language and AI technology, reactionary organizations are staging a spectacular drama in cyberspace, where each user can unwittingly become an accomplice, if not alert.
Effective barriers from political belief and courage
There is no more effective solution than strengthening political will and confidence in identifying, refuting and defeating the "digital populism" trick, a manifestation of the "peaceful evolution" plot in cyberspace. The 12th Central Conference (13th tenure) clearly stated that in order to prepare well for the 14th National Party Congress, it is necessary to build a contingent of cadres with steadfast political will, pure morality, acting for the collective, for the people, putting the interests of the nation and the people above all. This is not only a requirement for leaders in Party committees at all levels but must become a common requirement for every cadre, party member, civil servant and public employee.
Strengthening information immunity, proactively participating in refuting false arguments, clarifying the reactionary nature of hostile forces, exposing demagoguery and concept swapping tricks... are our urgent and long-term tasks. We cannot allow ill-intentioned voices to be equated with genuine social criticism. We also cannot allow populist groups to claim to represent the voice of the people to incite and promote "political opposition". Prevent "digital populism" and "political opposition" plots with official information, clarify the truth, help social media users clearly see black and white, true and false, good and bad... We do not turn our backs on social media, but rather master it with the capacity of official media, with the spread of positive information, with the people's trust in the leadership of the Party in the spirit of "building" to "fight"; using beauty to eliminate ugliness; Use positive information to push back negative, distorted, and falsified information...
MY LONG - HA THANH
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Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/phong-chong-dien-bien-hoa-binh/muon-danh-yeu-nuoc-de-kich-dong-chong-pha-chieu-bai-cu-thu-doan-moi-bai-2-doi-lap-chinh-tri-muu-do-cu-vo-boc-moi-839066
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