and religious organizations taking the lead in assisting new arrivals.82 However, such levels of support could not be fully sustained more than a decade into Rohingya’s influx. Decreasing levels of assistance to direct aid providers to the refugees, without a clear plan in place from the government, reportedly compromised their access to shelter and other forms of basic services in their host country, as well as tarnished Rohingya’s image by representing them as a burden to Indonesian society.83 Narratives antagonizing Rohingya reached online platforms, which already had faced systematic challenges in curbing misinformation and disinformation campaigns domestically.84 This pattern seems to have approached its peak in the period before the country’s latest general elections as it concomitantly witnessed a rising trend in the use of artificial intelligence and deep fakes.85 In MALAYSIA, the effects of widespread anti-refugee and xenophobic sentiment from the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to compromise Rohingya’s quality of life as a refugee. In 2020, allegedly to follow nationwide COVID-19 preventative measures, the Malaysian authorities denied the disembarkation of the Rohingya refugees.86 The isolationist climate had already been tense in Malaysia then, where misinformation that the refugees would threaten the country’s border security and safety had spread online.87 The Malaysian government has since acted in ways that failed to curb the spread of such antagonistic rhetoric, resorting to seemingly condoning it: following the Sungai Bakap immigration detention center incident, the former Home Minister expressed that the eventual demise of the escaped Rohingya refugees would be a “lesson” to other “migrants” in the country.88 The country’s lack of refugee protection mechanisms, among many other factors, then enabled online doxxing and targeting campaigns against Rohingya refugee leaders and human rights defenders, as well as forced eviction of over 50 Rohingya refugees, including children, from their shelters in rural Penang.89 Such a hostile climate has 82 Krithika Varagur, “‘They are our brothers’: Rohingya refugees find rare welcome in Aceh,” The Guardian, May 24, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/25/they-are-our-brothers-rohingya-refugees-find-rare-welcome-in-ac eh; “Why Aceh is a rare place of welcome for Rohingya refugees,” The Conversation, August 25, 2020, https://theconversation.com/why-aceh-is-a-rare-place-of-welcome-for-rohingya-refugees-143833. 83 Yogi Febriandi, “What’s driving Aceh’s backlash against Rohingya refugees?,” Indonesia at Melbourne, December 20, 2023, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/whats-driving-acehs-backlash-against-rohingya-refugees/. 84 Ibid. 85 “Indonesia CSOs fight ‘deep fake’ elections,” Thai PBS World, February 15, 2024, https://www.thaipbsworld.com/indonesia-csos-fight-deep-fake-elections/. 86 “‘We are targeted for being Rohingya in Myanmar and everywhere’: The situation of Rohingya since February 1, 2021.” 87 “Preventing hate speech, incitement, and discrimination: the case of Malaysia,” The Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes, March 7, 2022, https://gaamac.org/2022/03/preventing-hate-speech-incitement-and-discrimination-the-case-of-malaysia/. 88 “'Ill-treated' refugees should leave M'sia if they want freedom: Hamzah,” Malaysiakini, April 24, 2022, https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/619085; “Malaysia: End hateful rhetoric against Rohingya refugees,” Article 19, April 28, 2022, https://www.article19.org/resources/malaysia-end-hateful-rhetoric-against-rohingya-refugees/. 89 “Joint Letter on ending violent threats and hate speech against the Rohingya community in Malaysia,” Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect,” May 11, 2020, https://www.globalr2p.org/publications/joint-letter-on-hate-speech-against-the-rohingya-in-malaysia/#:~:text=Startin g%20in%20the%20third%20week,be%20forcibly%20returned%20to%20Myanmar; “Penang Rohingya villagers forced from homes ahead of Raya,” MalaysiaNow, April 19, 2023, https://www.malaysianow.com/news/2023/04/19/penang-rohingya-villagers-forced-from-homes-a-week-before-ray a. 19