Do racist comments online really reflect what Singaporeans think? | Deep Dive

Recent controversies over the Nepal-Tibet floods and the debate over Singapore Airlines’ investment into Air India have once again put Singaporeans’ attitudes towards race and immigration in the spotlight. Does this reflect growing racist views in society, or is social media amplifying the racism of a minority? Are we also up against something more sinister, like AI bots creating divisions? Can we have meaningful discussions about hot-button immigration or social issues without resorting to racism and stereotypes? And will the new racial harmony law – which took effect on Sep 15 – put the brakes on racist commentators online, or will it drive them underground?

Steven Chia and Tiffany Ang speak with Dr Mathew Mathews from the Institute of Policy Studies and Associate Professor Natalie Pang from the National University of Singapore about what’s driving these conversations, where the lines should be drawn and how we can do better.

Highlights:
00:00 Intro
03:36 What online chatter really shows
07:34 Does social media create or amplify racism?
09:02 Impact of AI bots
11:03 Why racial stereotypes remain powerful
14:50 How foreign operations target fault lines
19:59 Can we disentangle immigration from the racist debate?
22:32 Can we have meaningful discussions online?
24:16 Will calling out racist comments online make a difference?
29:36 When racism is disguised as humour
30:55 What impact will the new racial harmony law have?

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#DeepDivePodcast #singapore #racism #society

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