Profit-driven algorithms represent a real threat to Malaysia’s refugees, say humanitarian observers who expect the online aggression to intensify as the general election approaches.

The observers caution that political opportunism is targeting undocumented Rohingya who are uniquely vulnerable to the manufactured social media outrage.

The escalation of anti-refugee rhetoric serves a calculated domestic purpose as Malaysia approaches the 16th general election, said Universiti Malaya’s human rights researcher Khoo Ying Hooi.

She believes that refugees have become politically convenient targets as political parties compete to demonstrate their nationalist credentials.