Currently, social media platforms like Facebook and Zalo are used by agencies and local authorities in Điện Biên province for information dissemination work because these platforms are popular and easy to use.

In Nậm Pồ district, recognizing the effectiveness of social media as a tool for information dissemination, in August 2020, under the direction of the district’s Party Committee and People’s Committee, a Facebook fanpage called “Biên cương Nậm Pồ” (Border of Nậm Pồ) was officially launched. On average, the fanpage posts 20 to 25 news items and articles each week, in line with the information dissemination guidelines set by local authorities. The content focuses on the Party’s guidelines, State policies, protecting the ideological foundation of the Party, combating false and hostile views, promoting political events in the province and district, showcasing the activities of local leaders, and providing the public with official information. In addition, the fanpage also highlights the beauty of Nậm Pồ’s culture, people, tourism, and cuisine to attract visitors. Thanks to the official and engaging content posted, the fanpage has attracted a large number of followers, with nearly 13,000 followers, 5.1K likes, and 2,192,178 views.

When people need to find information, local officials, party members, civil servants, and citizens often visit the fanpage “Biên Cương Nậm Pồ” to learn about ongoing activities in the area. “I often visit the fanpage of the district because it provides official information. Through it, I stay informed about the important events happening in the district,” shared Quàng Thị Dung from Nà Hỳ commune.

Not only Nậm Pồ district, but currently, party committees and local authorities in districts, towns, and city across the province have directed their specialized departments to establish Facebook pages for timely communication of information regarding the activities of government bodies and departments. The provincial Youth Union is also leading the way in utilizing Facebook and Zalo pages for promoting the Youth Union’s tasks and campaigns, as well as contributing to the dissemination of the province’s socio-economic development tasks.

According to the provincial Youth Union’s statistics, there are currently 7 fanpages with nearly 8,000 followers; 1 website with 256,098 views; and 9 out of 10 district-level chapters of the provincial Youth Union have fanpages. To maintain and enhance the effectiveness of these social media platforms from the provincial level to grassroots levels, the Youth Union frequently coordinates with relevant units to organize training courses to improve the skills of the staff responsible for information dissemination work, particularly in areas such as information analysis, forecasting, and handling information.

Additionally, the provincial Youth Union focuses on guiding, supervising, and inspecting the communication activities of electronic information pages, fanpages, and other social media platforms, strengthening cooperation among agencies to ensure the posting and sharing of accurate and official content.

Hồ Chính Hóa, Secretary of the Phìn Hồ commune’s youth organization, shared: “Nowadays, social media is widely used and shared by everyone. Our Youth Union has directed the youth to take responsibility for combating harmful information on the internet by actively posting and sharing good deeds, exemplary figures, best practices, and models on the Youth Union’s Facebook and Zalo pages. Each youth member, who directly uses social media, must be responsible for eliminating harmful, false, or misleading information that could cause public confusion and affect security, order, and social safety.”

In information dissemination work, the provincial Party Committee’s Commission for Information, Education and Mass Mobilization has actively applied information technology, digital transformation, ideological direction, and public opinion monitoring. The department continues to enhance the effectiveness of digital platforms to spread positive information, promptly refute false information dissemination, and improve the effectiveness of mass mobilization through digital technology in tracking public sentiment and collecting feedback from the people through electronic platforms and social media.

The provincial Party Committee’s Commission for Information, Education and Mass Mobilization has also advised the provincial Steering Board 35 to direct functional units to closely monitor the situation on the internet, carry out counter-information dissemination, and prevent and handle false claims. They strengthen the information dissemination of positive, official information through media outlets, the internet, and social media, focusing on national and provincial events. These efforts in combating hostile views and false information dissemination have contributed to maintaining political security, social order, and enhancing national defense and security in the province.

Through practice, it has been shown that the use of social media in information dissemination work by the local authorities in the province has been effective, helping users access accurate and timely information. This approach has also contributed to preventing harmful and misleading information, spreading official and positive content to the people, and improving the effectiveness of information dissemination work in the new situation.