Some netizens in Southeast Asia form groups of cyber warriors to dox Israeli soldiers, cyberbully opponents

SINGAPORE: Netizens from some Southeast Asian countries have been mounting online campaigns against Israelis as well as against responses of various governments towards the Israel-Hamas war that has dragged on for close to two months. 

In Indonesia and Malaysia, netizens have been attacking and cyberbullying soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) by spamming their social media accounts through calls, comments and messages, in a bid to demoralise them. 

Meanwhile, with domestic laws forbidding physical protests about the Israel-Hamas war, much of the debate among Singaporeans has taken place online. 

The Singapore Police Force on Oct 18 said that events and public assemblies in relation to the Israel-Hamas conflict will not be permitted due to public safety and security concerns, given the heightened tensions. 

Some netizens in the region, based on the language used or the country name identified in their social media accounts, have criticised the Singapore government’s approach, while others have taken issue with certain groups in Singapore who appear to be seemingly apathetic towards the conflict. 

An analyst told CNA that such movements and actions give netizens located far from the war zone a sense of purpose and a means of “taking action”, but suggested that other forms of activism could be more effective.

INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA: ONLINE ACTIVISM AND DISINFORMATION ATTACKS

In an online war against Israelis, an Indonesian-based movement called #JulidFiSabilillah has led to the doxxing and cyberbullying of members of the IDF as well as others the group perceives to be zionists, referring to those who believe in the establishment of a Jewish national state. 

Julid Fi Sabilillah means to speak critically of others in the way of god. The name of the movement is a play on the Arabic term “jihad fi sabilillah”, which means to fight in the way of god. And in Indonesian slang, julid means to gossip or speak about others in a critical or negative tone.

According to local media, the social media handles and WhatsApp mobile numbers of Israeli soldiers were disseminated online, allowing Indonesians and even Malaysians to spam such accounts with comments, messages and calls.

Several soldiers have since closed the comment section on their Instagram, while others have even lost their accounts. 

An Indonesian - who goes by the pen name Erlangga Greschinov - began the movement when he first shared the social media accounts of IDF soldiers on Nov 16. 

He told CNA via a call that he felt the need to take action after seeing Israeli soldiers on Instagram celebrating in Gaza. 

“They were dancing in the ruined city of Gaza … And I (started asking): ‘Why do these people have no regret about the atrocity (they’re committing)?’ 

“That’s why I posted on Twitter and asked ‘how about we deal with these soldiers?’, and a lot of people (decided to join me),” said Mr Erlangga. 

The movement aims to attack the narrative by the Israeli media and soldiers which depicts Palestinians negatively, he said.

“When we troll, we want to make a persuasive statement about how we should treat Palestinians … and about how we can deal with Israeli propaganda,” said Mr Erlangga. 

He added that the movement has several strategies, which include gaining the trust of Israeli soldiers in order to obtain their personal information, and sowing discord among Israelis through disinformation.

Mr Erlangga noted that some Malaysians have joined the movement but said that the current focus is on mobilising and coordinating the Indonesian netizens.  

“I don’t speak Malay and all of my announcements are in Indonesian … It takes a lot of time (to get help with translation) but … if people from any other countries want to join us, I welcome them,” he said. 

When asked if he is worried about the possibility of any legal action against him in the future, Mr Erlangga noted that Indonesia has no diplomatic relationship with Israel. 

“Israelis who feel threatened by our movement can come to us and try to begin a legal thing here. We welcome them,” he said.

Dr Joanne Lim, a professor in Communications, Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia, said that this form of activism is an example of “connective responsibility” whereby netizens feel a deep sense of social responsibility to call for the end to the atrocities in Gaza. 

“The rest of the world can’t help but feel like they are merely on-lookers and bystanders of this conflict.

“Taking to social media provides netizens with a sense of purpose, a collective sense of belonging, a means of ‘taking action’ rather than succumbing to the idea of uselessness, which inevitably leads to hopelessness,” Dr Lim told CNA. 

She added that the doxing of Israeli soldiers and zionists can also be seen as a desperate response largely driven by an intrinsic need to have a voice and an opinion.

However, Dr Lim noted that other forms of activism may be more effective.

“Rather than fuelling the furnace of evil and becoming agents of rumour-mongering and disinformation, a more effective form of activism could be to call for action … to help alleviate the suffering caused by the mass atrocities and war crimes against humanity,” she said. 

While Malaysia does not have a similar coordinated movement as in Indonesia, local netizens have taken to attacking users, both in Malaysia and around the world, who support Israel. 

For example, X user @mechanics_watch - who claims to be from Malaysia - attracted much attention after he wrote in a post that he “stand(s) with Israel unequivocally” and that he “(does not) really care about dead Palestinian children”. 

“I zoom out and see the bigger picture,” said the user in a post last Monday. Thousands of netizens have since responded to the post which has gotten 326,900 views.

According to the X user, some Malaysians have threatened to uncover his real identity and have also tagged local police and government officials in his posts.

FAIR CRITICISMS KEY IN SINGAPORE-RELATED DISCOURSE: ANALYST

In Singapore, Dr Mathew Mathews, head of the Institute of Policy Studies' social lab, told CNA that while it is unlikely that a good portion of Singaporeans do not feel for the events of the last two months, many are also careful about vocally engaging in hostilities.

This is because Singaporeans recognise that this is a sensitive issue, he said. 

“And as a people, we value keeping harmony and recognise that when issues can be contentious, speaking about them can result in more tension which is not conducive for our society,” said Dr Mathews.

He added that many could also be heeding the government's call that Singaporeans should not allow this issue to cause friction between groups in Singapore and that the government is closely monitoring the situation particularly as it pertains to potential security threats.

He also noted that a good number of residents across backgrounds in Singapore have been donating to the humanitarian aid for victims of the Israel-Hamas war. 

Thus far, Singapore has sent humanitarian aid for Gaza twice - once in early November and another on Thursday (Nov 30).

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in a joint statement, Singaporeans have also contributed a total of more than S$7 million in cash and in-kind donations to support relief efforts in Gaza.

Dr Syed Farid Alatas, a professor of sociology at the National University of Singapore, concurred on the sensitivity of the issue but said that more can be done by Singaporeans such as participating in discussions about the Israel-Hamas war. 

“Providing humanitarian aid is important of course, but it's not true that that’s the only thing we can do. It’s a matter perhaps of not being so timid,” he told CNA.

Commenting on the online activism of Malaysians and Indonesians, Dr Alatas said that they “are not exceptional in terms of their critique” given similar rhetoric seen in other parts of the world, while there seems to be less concern in Singapore over the issue.

Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said earlier this week that there has been a "noticeable increase" in anti-Singapore sentiment from around the region on social media. 

An example of comments hitting out at Singapore include those that see the country as being pro-West or pro-Israel, said Mr Shanmugam. Others refer to Singapore as "Tanah Melayu" - or Malay Lands - a parallel to Israel being on Palestinian land.

On Nov 17, Singapore's MFA said it "deeply regrets" the impact of Israel's military operations at the Al Shifa hospital. Earlier in October, Mr Shanmugam said Israel’s response should be consistent with international law and international rules of war, noting that other countries have also made this point. 

“We condemn all acts of terrorism and wanton violence. But we must not let these events happening externally affect the internal situation in Singapore,” he said.

Dr Alatas said that it is very important in online discourses to distinguish between rational and fair criticisms versus unfair criticisms of Singapore. 

“For example, it is fair to criticise Singapore for accepting the two-state solution because this is a controversial issue," he added.

“There are many scholars and even countries which take the position that a two-state solution is impossible because of the occupation of the West Bank and that the only viable solution is a one-state solution in which there are equal rights for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. That kind of criticism is fair.”

Meanwhile, netizens have also taken issue with the stances of the Malaysian and Indonesian governments. 

Social media users around the globe have criticised both governments for their lack of condemnation towards crimes committed by Hamas, including the killing and kidnapping of civilians. 

Others in Malaysia have also attacked their local government for placing too much focus on advocating for Palestinians. 

"I am also disappointed (by) how much time is wasted in our parliament over this war. Malaysia has nothing to do with what is happening there ... It’s about time we focus on our national issues please," said a user on Reddit.