Kuala Lampur, Aug. 31 -- Every Merdeka, we celebrate political freedom and national identity - flags, parades, and heartfelt pledges. Yet in 2025, another independence is at stake: independence of the mind. In the age of clickbait, deepfakes, AI-generated ads, and viral conspiracies, true freedom means the ability to think critically and discern facts from fiction. And on that front, Malaysia is alarmingly under-equipped.

Malaysia today is hyper-connected. By 2024, 97.4 per centof its 33.6 million people were online, and 83.1 per cent(28.7 million) were active on social media. Malaysia also tops Southeast Asia in social media penetration at 81 per cent, ahead of Singapore (79 per cent), the Philippines (67 per cent), and Indonesia (59 pe...