Azalina said Umno took seriously reports of AI being used to influence political discussions in Malaysia following an investigation by AI company Anthropic.
KUALA LUMPUR: Umno has called for a fair and impartial investigation into an alleged artificial intelligence (AI)-driven operation targeting Malaysian voters, warning that enforcement must not apply “one measure for friends and another for opponents”.
Umno Information chief Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said authorities must take action against anyone found to have breached the law, regardless of whether they supported the government or opposition.
“If government party supporters violate the law, take action. If opposition supporters violate the law, take action.
“Laws cannot have one measure for friends and another measure for opponents,” she said in a statement.
Azalina said Umno took seriously reports of AI being used to influence political discussions in Malaysia following an investigation by AI company Anthropic.
The report alleged that an operation had used about 1,000 fake X accounts, a fabricated news outlet and AI-generated content containing false allegations.
Anthropic said the operation used AI to profile voters across Malaysia’s parliamentary constituencies and generate political content, although it found no evidence that the campaign had successfully changed election results or voters’ political positions.
Azalina said the allegations raised important questions about who was behind the operation, who financed it and whose interests it served.
She also urged Malaysians to exercise greater caution when consuming content and comments on social media, warning that AI-powered bots could create an illusion of widespread public support by flooding platforms with coordinated comments.
“Many comments do not necessarily mean many Malaysians think that way,” she said.
Azalina said Umno itself had been subjected to repeated negative claims online but stressed that the party did not regard all criticism as fake or bot-generated.
“People have the right to criticise Umno, the government or any leader. Fact-based criticism must be respected,” she said.
She urged authorities to ensure Malaysia’s digital space remained open to criticism while being protected from manipulation and foreign interference.
