Be cautious about information on social media.

Today, social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, etc., have boomed and become an "essential part of life." From officials and civil servants to laborers, from mountainous regions to lowlands, from rural areas to urban centers, from the elderly to children, "everyone is online" - everyone has access to them.social networkTo varying degrees, some people have multiple accounts on social media. Everyone has their own work schedule, sleep schedule, and rest schedule, but social media is a constant "24/7 information highway," never resting at any time.

Illustrative image: Archival material

People go online to find information, socialize, connect with friends, promote products, do charity work, and many other useful things. Each person chooses their favorite and most suitable websites. It's commendable that there are scholars, intellectuals, officials, journalists, doctors, and others... These are people with broad knowledge, careful judgment, and accurate statements, who, through their websites, provide society with very useful information. Many people have a habit of going to these websites to find out and verify information whenever there is "hot" news. Many people spend a lot of time online every day, and social media has become an indispensable tool, a close and useful "friend."

However, on social media, alongside the positive aspects, there are many people and pieces of information whose sole purpose is to gain likes and views. Sensational, "hot off the press" clips and posts like: "Just discovered a shocking secret about a corrupt official"; "The truth about this man's backdoor dealings"; "The discovery of that woman's enormous wealth"; "How this group is operating underground"; "How that group is about to be imprisoned,"... are presented as if they were real. Often, these are pages and groups that lack transparency regarding personal information, don't use real names, and have unclear addresses; many are pages of reactionary elements from abroad; some are disguised pages of disgruntled, reactionary, or subversive individuals... Much of the information is false, fabricated, and has a negative impact on public opinion. What is concerning is that this kind of "shocking" information, which arouses "curiosity," often spreads through the "crowd effect," with many people viewing, reading, commenting, and even cursing. This inadvertently creates a wave of public opinion, exactly as intended by the person who disseminated it.

False and misleading information on social media. (Screenshot)

Typically, you can find some news articles, clips, and videos of this type on social media:

- Exploiting the violations of officials who have been disciplined by the Party, State, and law, as reported through the media recently, to make sweeping generalizations and mislead public opinion, causing people to see only the dark side and not the bright side, only the negative aspects and not the positive ones, regarding the policies, guidelines, and nature of our regime.

- Articles and clips that tend to be distorted anddistorting historyThis distorts the truth about prominent figures and high-ranking leaders, and denies the tradition of our nation's struggle to build and defend the country.

- They stir up and "repackage" old information to gain likes and views, increasing page interaction, but this creates confusion and resentment among the public...

- Spreading false information, blaming officials, agencies, and authorities at all levels, and inciting negative and offensive comments on social media.

- Using your own account to access someone else's accountfraudulent advertisingThis includes lending money at exorbitant interest rates, openly selling counterfeit documents and money, defrauding and misappropriating money and assets, inviting people to participate in games, offering gifts, tricking them into transferring money for orders and then withholding the funds, and freezing accounts, etc., targeting naive and inexperienced individuals.

Be wary of harmful and malicious information. Illustration: Source material.

These tactics are not new; the media and authorities have repeatedly warned against and dealt with them. However, many people online lack experience and still fall into the trap. Many cannot distinguish right from wrong, do not understand the root cause, and simply share and comment on what seems "attractive." Because they don't fully understand the nature of the issue, their comments often follow the crowd, sometimes even being vulgar and anti-cultural. All these actions, whether intentional or unintentional, encourage wrongdoing and violations of the law online.

Every social media user, especially cadres and Party members, needs to be extremely vigilant and cautious with information on social media, especially during major anniversaries, sensitive events, and sensational or "hot" information, so as not to inadvertently assist elements who deliberately distort and undermine the peace of the people.