1. Complexities in Falsehoods Management and Implications for Research and Practice

Online falsehoods, in the form of fake news, misinformation and disinformation disseminated via electronic communications, remain a critical one that confronts governments, social media companies and civil society. In Asia, a wide slate of stakeholders, comprising governments, civil society and social media platforms, have responded in myriad ways to contain the problem (e.g., legislative moves, takedown by social media companies, and fact checking efforts by society and academia). However, these existing measures tend to focus on open social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. However, as the reliance on mobile devices for information seeking and sharing continues to grow, the spread of online falsehoods on mobile instant messaging services (MIMS) such as WhatsApp, LINE, Telegram and WeChat, has become a growing problem. This chapter identifies the gaps in existing research and interventions in falsehoods management. It highlights what is to come in the rest of the edited volume—analyses of the latest developments and emerging trends pertaining to the spread of falsehoods on MIMS, innovative methodological work that seeks to solve the puzzle of online falsehoods on MIMS, and key lessons that can be learnt from different stakeholders who are doing important work in countering online falsehoods on MIMS in Asia.