Highlights

• The internet has achieved unprecedented democratization of information access, but rather than promoting democratic ideals and critical thinking, it has often become a tool for undermining them, particularly due to social media platforms, which have been essentially weaponized to spread misinformation and hate speech.
• Despite high internet penetration rates in Southeast Asia, educational outcomes haven't improved significantly, with most countries scoring below global averages on PISA tests. Information access by itself does not guarantee the learning of critical thinking.
• Social media platforms' algorithmic amplification of sensationalist content, combined with high daily internet usage in Southeast Asia and inadequate regulatory oversight, has created an environment where misinformation spreads rapidly and unchecked.
• Most Southeast Asian regulatory bodies struggle with two key challenges: aging parliamentarians who don't understand modern technology platforms, and social media companies' resistance to meaningful algorithm changes or content moderation improvements.
• The author recommends three solutions: increasing the digital presence of public intellectuals, investing in higher-quality teachers, and developing more effective policy frameworks for content moderation.

Summary

There were early optimistic expectations that the internet, by democratizing equitable access to information, would lead to, at the least, a commensurate democratization of ideas, including among the billions of people in developing countries like those in Southeast Asia. This paper analyzes the paradox of the internet—how a combination of low education achievement levels and the widespread dissemination of misinformation on social media platforms has, contrary to expectations, enabled an environment in which the internet is now being used to subvert fundamental democratic values. The paper proceeds to present a potential path forward, where with improved education and more effective shepherding by both civil society and policy-making bodies, there may be a chance for Southeast Asia to strengthen its capacity to use the democratization of information to preserve and even advance the democratization of ideas.