Market-Driven Disinformation and the Emerging Threat of AI-Generated Content

Singapore’s ISEAS to Host Webinar on Digital Disinformation and Market Practices

The ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s Media, Technology and Society Programme will host a webinar examining how informational disorder flourishes in today’s digital ecosystem. The hybrid event, to be held at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel in Singapore, will analyze misinformation not as an accidental byproduct of online platforms but as a feature embedded in their business models.

The discussion comes amid growing global concern about the proliferation of false information online and its societal impacts. According to the webinar’s description, recent phenomena including cultural wars, the post-truth crisis, and the rise of ultra-nationalist movements worldwide can be traced to digital platforms’ fundamental business strategies that monetize engagement regardless of content quality.

“Social media algorithms monetize harmful content and promote internet addictions that become the currency for digital advertising and influencer marketing,” states the program overview, highlighting how financial incentives drive the spread of problematic content. The webinar will also address how AI-generated social media accounts create echo chambers through “astroturfing” – the practice of masking sponsors of messages to make them appear as grassroots initiatives.

Of particular concern is what speakers term “agentic disinformation” – the embedding of AI agents within advertising technology (AdTech) systems. This emerging threat represents a potential evolution in how false information might be generated and targeted at specific audiences with greater sophistication.

The event features Dr. Carlos Diaz Ruiz, an Associate Professor of Marketing and Consumer Insights at Finland’s Hanken School of Economics, as the main speaker. Dr. Ruiz brings both academic and industry perspectives, having published in leading journals including the Journal of Business Research and Journal of Marketing & Public Policy, following an earlier career as an insights consultant for major Latin American companies.

Beltsazar Krisetya will serve as discussant, bringing a Southeast Asian perspective to the conversation. Krisetya, a Visiting Fellow at ISEAS’s Media, Technology, and Society Programme and PhD student at University College London, specializes in content moderation challenges in Indonesia. His research examines tensions in addressing misinformation in the Indonesian context, and he has collaborated with organizations including the European Commission, Google, Meta, and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy.

The Southeast Asian focus is particularly relevant as the region has experienced significant challenges with online misinformation. Political actors across Southeast Asian countries have increasingly utilized digital platforms’ algorithms and business models to shape narratives, maintain power, suppress dissent, and undermine democratic institutions.

This phenomenon has been especially visible during election cycles throughout the region, where social media manipulation has become a standard component of political strategy. Countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, and Myanmar have all grappled with coordinated disinformation campaigns that exploit the attention economy of digital platforms.

The webinar represents part of a broader global effort to understand and address the systemic nature of online misinformation. While many early approaches focused on individual content moderation or fact-checking, attention has increasingly shifted to examining the structural and economic factors that make digital environments hospitable to false information.

Physical attendance at the event is by invitation only, but interested participants can register online to receive a link for virtual attendance. The date of the webinar was not specified in the announcement.