By Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio
HANOI, May 8 (Reuters) – Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party plans to revamp its propaganda efforts by drafting in social media influencers and artificial intelligence experts while adopting new formats such as podcasts and targeted content, internal documents seen by Reuters show.
Building a network of at least 1,000 influencers and 5,000 AI experts by 2030 to disseminate “positive” content is among the measures being considered by authorities in the one-party Southeast Asian nation, according to a draft prepared in April.
The strategy’s key aim is to “create ‘ideological immunity’ for the entire society against harmful, toxic and false information,” the document said.
Rapid technological changes call for a new approach to spread the party’s ideology among new generations, it added.
Domestic media have mentioned some aspects but Reuters is reporting the full strategy for the first time, based on the unpublished draft by the party’s propaganda committee, along with additional information.
SECURITY APPARATUS IS GAINING POWER
The effort comes at a time when Vietnam’s security apparatus is gaining power under party chief and president To Lam, a former head of the public security ministry who has become the country’s most powerful leader in decades.
It aims to further strengthen the party’s grip on public narratives in Vietnam, where media freedom is consistently ranked among the world’s worst, and authorities control public debate by directing news coverage and censoring social media.
Posters of dissenting views face fines or detention, while a specialised military unit combats information it deems harmful through online posts and comments.
The draft calls for at least 80% of information in the Vietnamese language online space to be positive by the end of the decade, with AI used to ensure the removal within 24 hours of at least 90% of content that infringes party guidelines.
AI tools developed by Vietnamese tech companies will help “lead social discussion” while policy will be explained more simply through formats such as podcasts, short videos and specific content for social media and targeted groups, it says.
External influencers and officials trained in digital skills will help communicate with young people and a public that increasingly prefers visual content in short videos, it adds.
Vietnam is one of Facebook’s largest markets globally, while millions also use other platforms, such as TikTok. By October, it had 79 million active social media user identities, or nearly 80% of the population, data provider DataReportal said.
MEDIA TOLD TO BE MORE CREATIVE
Additional party guidance from May urges more creativity by traditional state media in covering the activities of senior leaders and cites influencers as an example.
Use of influencers is also being considered to help counter market downturns, the public security ministry said in an internal proposal in March on market reforms, which Reuters reported last month.
Some have already been recruited, one influencer told Reuters, adding that he had declined to join the plan in order to preserve his autonomy.
Party requests typically involve publishing approved material and posts or promoting official activities, he said.
Participants could expect perks such as sponsored trips, but not financial compensation, said the person, who sought anonymity for fear of repercussion.
In April, the Communist Youth Union’s central committee invited Vietnamese influencers on a study trip to China, the latest such visit in recent months, he added.
HANOI CAUTIOUS ABOUT SONG FOR TO LAM
Encouraging creativity boosts the risks of initiatives that are out of step with the party’s views, however.
“My Uncle”, a song released in April and dedicated to To Lam, likened him to Communist Vietnam’s late founding leader Ho Chi Minh, known as Uncle Ho. The song provoked party unease.
“Uncle leads the way, enlightening the path for our nation,” sang performer Du Thien, who has 850,000 Facebook followers, accompanied by video of Lam meeting Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Soon after, state media were told not to cover “improperly oriented” cultural products that could undermine the prestige of communist leaders and ideology, people familiar with the matter said. Du Thien could not be reached for comment.
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen; Additional reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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