Building a "fortress" from the ground up.

The Hanoi City Police are not only focusing on administrative penalties or purely operational investigations, but are also implementing a comprehensive approach that combines both "construction" and "combat" to protect the Party's ideological foundation at the grassroots level.

From a single edited video about the renovation of an old apartment building, a speculative post related to urban planning, or false information about the local government apparatus, thousands of shares can appear on social media within hours. In this "war without gunfire," the goal of hostile forces is not simply to spread fake news, but more profoundly to disrupt information, incite skepticism, erode social trust, and hinder the development of the capital city.

As Hanoi enters a period of rapid transformation with a determination to be a pioneer in the new era, the struggle to protect the Party's ideological foundation in cyberspace is becoming even more intense and complex.

At the forefront of this battle, the Hanoi Police force is proactively building "fortresses" right from the grassroots level, maintaining political and social stability early on and from afar.

Officers from the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department of the Hanoi City Police work with a violator. Photo: Hanoi City Police.

New "hot spots" in cyberspace

Cybersecurity experts believe that never before has misinformation spread so rapidly and had such a profound impact as it does today. Just one sensitive social event related to planning, land, land clearance, mass accidents, or personnel matters, and subversive elements immediately exploit it to distort, misrepresent, and manipulate public opinion.

More dangerously, much of the misinformation today no longer takes on an extremist or confrontational form, but is "packaged" in the form of social analysis, "personal perspectives," lifestyle videos, or live streams of current events commentary. These individuals exploit TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube to edit and distort statements, misrepresent policies, exaggerate individual shortcomings, incite discontent, and create a mob effect online.

Hostile forces are currently focusing on exploiting the internet and social media to deny the Party's ideological foundation, distort its policies and guidelines, incite opposition, and cause social instability.

For Hanoi, this pressure is even greater as the capital is implementing many strategic policies with broad impacts on social life. From operating a two-tiered local government model, urban renovation and reconstruction, to the development of strategic infrastructure, large-scale land clearance, and especially the "mega-projects" realizing aspirations in the new era... all can become "media hotspots" if information is not guided in a timely manner.

In reality, much misinformation has deliberately linked social issues with political motives, distorting the truth by claiming the city is "lacking transparency" and "violating citizens' rights," thereby inciting opposition to the government. Some individuals even exploit artificial intelligence (AI) to create fake images and videos, making it more difficult to identify harmful and malicious information.

In today's digital media environment, fake news can spread far faster than the speed at which legitimate information can be verified. If detected and addressed slowly, misinformation can cause a "media crisis," directly impacting social stability and the development environment.

This creates an urgent need to build a defense system to protect the Party's ideological foundation from the grassroots level, closely linking "maintaining cybersecurity" with "maintaining public trust."

Police in An Khánh commune, Hanoi, are working with a case of information violation. Photo: An Khánh Commune Police.

Building a "fortress" from the ground up.

Unlike in the past, the current nhiệm vụ of the local police force is no longer limited to maintaining security and order in the traditional sense. In the context of cyberspace becoming a "new front," each commune and ward is now also an important "checkpoint" in the struggle to protect the ideological foundation of the Party.

Experience shows that many complex public opinion issues, if not addressed early at the grassroots level, can easily escalate into "hot spots" on social media. Therefore, the Hanoi City Police are shifting strongly from a "reactive handling" mindset to a "proactive prevention" approach, using the grassroots as a foundation.

From gathering information on local areas, managing residency, and interacting with the public to monitoring public opinion on the internet, the commune and ward police force is increasingly playing a direct role in early detection of signs of the dissemination of harmful, provocative, and distorted information.

Many incidents, before they could escalate into a "public opinion crisis," were uncovered and dealt with as soon as they appeared on social media. Numerous cases of spreading fake news, manipulating information, and distorting the city's policies were quickly verified, the perpetrators summoned, and processed according to the law.

It is noteworthy that the Hanoi City Police are not only focusing on administrative penalties or purely operational investigations, but are also implementing a comprehensive approach encompassing both "construction" and "combat."

If "combating" means detecting, preventing, and dealing with false information, then "building" means strengthening "information resistance" in society; improving people's ability to identify fake news; spreading positive information; and protecting what is right, good, and positive.

Over the past period, the Hanoi Police force has proactively coordinated with press agencies, the propaganda system, and local authorities to promptly provide official information and guide public opinion on sensitive issues. Many thematic campaigns on identifying fake news, warning about high-tech scams, and distorting information on social media have been widely implemented down to the community level.

The public handling of numerous cases involving the posting of false information has also contributed to a significant deterrent effect on society. This reinforces the message: "The internet is not a 'lawless zone'; any act of using the internet to undermine or destabilize society will be dealt with severely."

In particular, during the implementation of the two-tiered local government model, the role of the grassroots police force becomes even more important. As communes and wards are given more power and authority, the demand for ensuring political security, information security, and social security at the local level also becomes higher.

At this time, each grassroots police officer is not only a guardian of social order and safety, but also a "bridge" between the government and the people; a force that directly contributes to strengthening social trust right from the grassroots level.

A social media account regularly posts manipulated content and AI-generated content to deceive people. (Screenshot)

Maintaining the "battlefield of trust" in the digital age.

Protecting the Party's ideological foundation in the current context is no longer solely the responsibility of propaganda work or the field of theory; it has become a task of safeguarding stability, the development environment, and social trust in the digital age.

In this struggle, the Hanoi Police force is playing a particularly important role: acting as a "shield" to block harmful and toxic information, while also proactively detecting risks early and from afar; and at the same time, contributing to strengthening the people's security posture at the grassroots level.

However, to create a solid "fortress" on the ideological front, the efforts of the police force alone are not enough. Party committees and local authorities must proactively monitor public opinion, strengthen dialogue with the people, and promptly provide official information on sensitive social issues at the grassroots level, preventing the formation of "information gaps" that malicious elements can exploit to distort the truth.

Every grassroots Party organization must become a "pillar of support," every cadre and Party member must be a "propaganda nucleus," and every citizen a "shield of information." Every citizen who is vigilant against misinformation, every social media account that operates responsibly, every stable residential area, every grassroots cadre who is close to the people and understands them... all are "fortresses" protecting the Party's ideological foundation right from the grassroots level.

At the forefront of this battle, the Hanoi City Police force continues to affirm its core and leading role, contributing to maintaining peace and security for the capital's development in both the physical and digital spaces.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/xay-dung-phao-dai-tu-co-so-749425.html