Vietnam’s 2021 General Election: The Model of Disinformation

Trinh Huu Long
Co-Director, Legal Initiatives for Vietnam

Abstract

Disinformation is a usual and familiar phenomenon in Vietnam during election years. The model of disinformation that the Vietnam Communist Party (CPV) adopted in the 2021 election, however, added a new element due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


Key Findings

  1. The CPV used its propaganda machine to legitimize the electoral process as a democratic election despite the undemocratic nature of the entire process.

  2. The CPV used both state media and cyber troops to delegitimize independent candidates and critics using mainly the half-truth tactic.

  3. The CPV used its propaganda machine to misled its citizens that it was safe to go to vote despite COVID-19 outbreaks in some areas.

Research Question

What model of disinformation did the Vietnam Communist Party adopt during the 2021 election?


Article Body

Vietnam holds its general elections every five years for both central government’s and local government’s legislative bodies. The 2021 election was held on May 23. As usual, the Vietnam Communist Party (CPv) conducted a massive disinformation campaign to manipulate the public in order to consolidate its power.

The CPV’s model of election disinformation in 2021 contains the following three elements: (1) disinformation that legitimizes the event as a free and fair election, (2) disinformation that delegitimizes independent candidates and critics, and (3) disinformation that misleads the public that the election is safe during the COVID-19 pandemic


1.Disinformation that legitimizes the event as a free and fair election

Throughout the electoral process, the CPV consistently spread the message of the election as a democratic process. The following articles’ titles from the state media provide evidence of their strategy:

  • “To ensure democracy empowerment in electoral organization” (The People newspaper, the largest and official mouthpiece of the CPV);

  • “A democratic, serious election” (Vietnamese Government Portal, the official mouthpiece of the cabinet);

  • “The electoral organization was safe, democracy, and in line with regulations” (The CPV’s Online Newspaper).

The government argues that the electoral process was transparent, ensuring citizens’ participation, in line with the principle of universal suffrage, and as a result, the voter turnout was extremely high: more than 99.57%.

The propaganda system of the CPV ignores the facts that the candidates vetting process itself, which is conducted by the CPV, is undemocratic; some independent candidates were arrested and charged with national security crimes; only 9 self-nominating candidates made it to the final ballot; only state media could access electoral events; and no independent observer was allowed to monitor the voting and counting processes.


2.Disinformation that delegitimizes independent candidates and critics

Again, this is a usual strategy that the CPV carries out in every election year. The following titles from the state media serve as examples of the implementation:

  • “Identifying four actions, tactics that seek to destroy the election” (VTV - the largest national TV station);

  • “Fighting the tactics that seek to destroy the election on cyberspace” (The CPV’s Online Newspaper);

  • “Be alarmed with narratives that distort and destroy the election” (The People’s Army Newspaper).

The CPV also deployed other actors to attack independent candidates using disinformation. They are called internet trolls, or opinion shapers (du luan vien), who are government-backed cyber troops called The 47 Force. Independent candidate Luong The Huy fell victim to their operations. He suffered a massive smear campaign on Facebook with a large number of people using the tactic of half-truth to accuse him of tax evasion, receiving funds from USAID to harm the government, being associated with Viet Tan - an overseas political party, etc.


3.Disinformation that convinces the public that the election is safe during the COVID-19 pandemic

One unusual development of the 2021 election is the involvement of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the government insisted that the election must be held on time as usual, they deployed propaganda forces to ensure the people that going to vote was safe. The following titles provide some evidence of the strategy:

  • “Voting sites are well-prepared in terms of facilities, personnel, and COVID-19 prevention” (The People newspaper, the largest and official mouthpiece of the CPV);

  • “Difficulties due to COVID-19, but the electoral organization was faster” (The People’s Army Newspaper);

  • “Despite the COVID-19 complicated outbreaks, the election was still held safely” (Suc khoe & Doi song, the mouthpiece of the Ministry of Health).

However, almost immediately after the election, many areas in the capital city, Hanoi, and many other provinces were put under lockdowns due to COVID-19 outbreaks. By July 15, the country was still struggling to contain the largest and the most damaging outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic.

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