Can influencers really fix social media’s hate problem?

The Fourth is building a 180-strong network of influencers around a set of ethical values, as the Malaysian investigative media company looks to offer brands an alternative to what it sees as an increasingly toxic social media ecosystem.

Called Fourth Influencers, the network brings together creators who have committed to five community values: honesty, fairness, transparency, responsibility and accountability. Some of the influencers include Jin Lim (JinnyBoy), Chin Pui Ting (Deadpudds) and Abe Lim. 

Members will work with The Fourth on social-impact campaigns, while the organisation also plans to connect the network with brands and organisations looking to work with values-driven creators.

The move follows The Fourth's recent "Bad Influence" investigation into what it described as a "hate economy" involving marketing agencies, paid cybertroopers and influencers. The investigation examined how racist and fear-driven content could be amplified online to support political agendas and generate virality.

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The Fourth itself subsequently became a target of cybertroopers. Rather than stepping away from the influencer ecosystem, the organisation is now looking to build an alternative within it.

"We've been working with influencers for about a decade now, since the 'Predator in My Phone' campaign when we were with The Star's R.AGE team," The Fourth founder Ian Yee told A+M.

"Even back then, we've always thought it would be cool to have a community or agency of impact influencers, instead of just working with them on a project-by-project basis." 

Yee said the idea had been put on the back burner as the organisation focused on investigative work, but "Bad influence" provided the impetus to finally develop it.

"I think most people will agree that Malaysia's information ecosystem is almost completely broken now," Yee said. "Every time we scroll through social media, we see hate comments and fear-mongering reels, and the worst part is we don't even know if any of it is real."

The scale of the problem is stark. According to Bernama, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) received 35,781 complaints related to cyberbullying between January and October 2025. From these complaints, the MCMC successfully took down 27,704 cyberbullying-related posts.

Globally, Malaysia's youth are disproportionately affected. The 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) found that 5% of Malaysian students report having been cyberbullying victims, making Malaysia one of the worst affected in Asia. 

The Fourth believes Fourth Influencers can help fill a gap in the market by bringing together creators who are willing to use their platforms for social impact.

If it weren't for the algorithms and millions being spent on rage-bait campaigns, Malaysian social media would never be this hateful.

"That's just not who we are as Malaysians. So this is really about reclaiming our digital spaces, and making them feel hopeful and joyful again."

From impact creators to brand partners

The network was initially piloted with a smaller group of influencers already involved in social impact, including Iqbal Fatkhi, Fiona Yoong, Ain Husniza and Abe Lim.

The initiative subsequently grew through recommendations from influencers The Fourth had worked with previously. Around 180 people attended its launch, with the majority being influencers interested in joining the community.

Rather than simply opening the network to creators, The Fourth requires prospective members to complete an online confirmation interview and commit to its five community values.

For brands, Fourth Influencers is positioned as more than a pool of creators. The Fourth sees the network as a way for advertisers to work with influencers who have explicitly committed to a set of values, while also giving brands a route into its social-impact campaigns.

According to Yee, advertisers are looking for healthier online environments and "wholesome influencers", creating an opportunity for Fourth Influencers to bridge brands with creators focused on social impact.

The organisation has not disclosed any confirmed brand partnerships at launch.

Members will first be involved in The Fourth's own impact campaigns, alongside civil society organisations. Community visits, workshops and masterclasses are also planned to help creators engage with the issues behind the campaigns.

Yee said The Fourth is open to working with businesses and organisations that share, or aspire to share, the network's values.

While businesses already participate in corporate social responsibility initiatives, Yee said these can sometimes take the form of one-off contributions. The Fourth instead wants to apply its social-impact expertise to wider systemic issues, with influencers helping bring those campaigns to larger audiences.

For now, the bigger test for Fourth Influencers will be whether its values can translate from a pledge into how creators actually work with brands and produce content at scale.

"It'll take time for some of these changes to really stick, because we're trying to fix a system and culture that's fundamentally broken," Yee said. "The good news is, we've seen time and again how much we can achieve with a little hope, and a lot of courage."

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