Disinformation Campaign Targets Rohingya in Malaysia Ahead of Elections

In the months before Malaysia's next election, a coordinated campaign of false claims, doctored images, and fabricated statistics has flooded social media platforms, all targeting the country's 126,000 Rohingya refugees. Fact-checkers at AFP have traced the disinformation across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok—fake quotes attributed to refugee leaders, videos doctored to show violence that never occurred, and invented statistics about births from Rohingya-Malaysian marriages. The timing is not accidental. Analysts who study the region say this surge in anti-Rohingya messaging is part of a broader political strategy, one that channels public anxiety about the economy, jobs, and national identity into hostility toward a vulnerable population.

Malaysia hosts more than 215,000 refugees and asylum seekers recognized by the United Nations, with Rohingya making up the largest single group. The country is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not officially recognize refugee status, which leaves the community in a precarious legal position. In late May, social media posts accused Rohingya of dumping waste from cattle slaughter during Eid Al-Adha, a major Muslim holiday in Malaysia. The allegation, whether true or exaggerated, sparked an online petition demanding the government resettle Rohingya elsewhere. Nearly half a million people signed it before it was removed. Malaysia's human rights commission issued a statement expressing deep concern over the growing hostility and discriminatory rhetoric.

The false narratives have taken specific forms. One Facebook post from a group claiming to represent Rohingya activists called for a Malaysian town to be handed over to refugees. AFP investigators found the post was generated by artificial intelligence and that the group did not exist. Another post, shared thousands of times on Instagram, showed a man in traditional robes kicking someone in Malaysian dress, captioned "Rohingyas kick out Malaysians." The account owner, traced to the United States, denied posting it and confirmed the image was fabricated. Dozens of other posts claimed two million babies had been born to Malay-Rohingya couples—a figure so far removed from official data that demographers called it impossible.

Lilianne Fan, head of the Secretariat of the Malaysian Advisory Group on Myanmar, described the pattern clearly: "Refugees have become a convenient proxy through which wider anxieties about the economy, migration, public services, security and national identity are channelled and expressed in the most violent and hateful language." She noted that algorithms reward outrage over accuracy, allowing isolated incidents to be generalized across an entire population. Victoire Rio, an information integrity analyst based in France, examined the accounts behind many of these posts and found a pattern of financial motivation. Some accounts had a history of monetizing content on Facebook as partner publishers. Divisive issues like the Rohingya refugee question, Rio explained, are particularly valuable for what the industry calls engagement farming—generating clicks and ad revenue through inflammatory content.

The human toll is becoming visible in the community itself. An official from the Rohingya Rights Response advocacy group, speaking on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns, said community members are increasingly reluctant to share their experiences or seek support. They fear becoming targets of online abuse or public hostility. The disinformation campaign has created a chilling effect, discouraging people from reporting incidents or engaging with local services. Malaysian government officials have acknowledged the pressure. Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution said the government would work to balance security and humanitarian concerns by coordinating with other countries on migration issues. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stated that Malaysia would engage through ASEAN mechanisms with Myanmar authorities and work to resolve the situation in Bangladesh as well.

What makes this moment distinct is the coordination between political timing, algorithmic amplification, and financial incentive. The disinformation is not random noise—it is a campaign designed to inflame sentiment ahead of elections, using tools that reward sensationalism and exploit divisions. The Rohingya, already without official legal status and dependent on humanitarian goodwill, have become a test case for how disinformation can be weaponized against populations with the least ability to defend themselves. As Malaysia moves toward its electoral moment, the question is whether the government will act to counter the false narratives or whether the campaign will continue to shape public opinion unchecked.