Official information is disseminated to all Vietnamese citizens through the use of social media networks. For instance, the Zalo and Facebook pages of Cot Co Thu Ngu of District 1 have been actively disseminating information about the 12th Party Central Committee’s Resolution 18 since the start of December 2024.
From this page, social networking sites at the grassroots level from the ward to the neighborhood lead back, forming a network, bringing information throughout to each citizen.
Resident Nguyen Tuyet Mai in Ben Nghe Ward of Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 said that she regularly receives propaganda information sent to Zalo. Ms. Nguyen Tuyet Mai said that dwellers strongly support the policy of streamlining the apparatus after reading official information through social media platforms.
Secretary Tran Quang Tuan of the Party Cell of residential block No.6 of District 1’s Ben Nghe Ward shared that, in addition to information from the Zalo and Facebook networks of the district and ward, the Party Committee and some Party members of Ward 6 regularly review and synthesize the latest information on newspapers and radio, from which there are many documents and many convincing aspects to propagate to local inhabitants.
As a result, the public exhibits belief in the Central's policies and the streamlined and efficient political system as it transitions into a new era. As per statistics, alongside traditional newspapers and radio stations, the city has over 355 social networking platforms and more than 1,000 electronic information pages.
Official channels consistently emphasize the dissemination of information regarding significant national policies, with a particular focus on localities such as Ho Chi Minh City. For instance, updates concerning the reorganization of the political system are regularly shared by official media outlets. A simple keyword search on Google for "streamlining the apparatus" yields over 119 million results in just 0.23 seconds, indicating that numerous official websites have published this information, which is both comprehensive and transparent.
At the central level, details about the restructuring of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and Government-affiliated organizations are continuously refreshed.
Additionally, various provinces and cities, including Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, and Dong Nai, have also made significant progress in publicizing their own information regarding the streamlining of their administrative structures.
Ho Chi Minh City is still in the process of completing the draft Project on restructuring the city's political system, but public opinion has been spreading information about merging this department into that department, this press agency into that press agency, causing information interference.
Although this information lacks basis, it was shared quickly and attracted many comments. This is not the first time that major policies and guidelines of the Central in general, and Ho Chi Minh City in particular, have been distorted by some individuals, providing false information in order to lead public opinion to divide and sabotage the great national unity bloc. For example, after General Secretary To Lam requested to summarize Resolution 18 and quickly reorganize the apparatus, on social networks, a lot of information was shared about the merger of 63 provinces and centrally-run cities into 31 provincial-level administrative units.
This information sparked significant public discourse and led to considerable controversy among the populace. In response, Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra promptly issued a denial, while Vu Dang Minh, Chief of Office and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs, signed an official communication to the Ministry of Public Security. This communication requested that the cyber security agency investigate and address the spread of misinformation.
Previously, during discussions regarding the implementation of the National Assembly Standing Committee's Resolution 35 concerning the reorganization of administrative units at the district and commune levels for the 2023-2030 period, numerous inaccuracies circulated. For instance, there were claims that Ho Chi Minh City was reorganizing six inner-city districts into new districts named Gia Dinh, Saigon, and Cho Lon. The Ho Chi Minh City Police acted swiftly to identify the individual responsible for disseminating this false information and took appropriate disciplinary measures.
This demonstrates that disseminating false or distorted information on social media, regardless of intent, will face swift verification and strict enforcement by authorities. Recognizing the potential for misinformation, the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Standing Committee consistently emphasizes the importance of comprehensive and widespread propaganda efforts to reach all citizens. Furthermore, it mandates that authorities rigorously monitor and address the spread of false information.
Secretary Nguyen Van Nen emphasized that Ho Chi Minh City will prioritize and dedicate significant effort to streamlining, strengthening, and enhancing the efficiency of its state machinery.
