Proposed Ethics and Moral Framework in Viral Video Production in Malaysia

Abstract

The release of information on social media is a norm that has become a necessity for all sectors including rural areas. The concept of virality is one of the media theories that has been introduced and is defined as a method that does not explicitly state the commercial purpose of an advertising activity, but rather encourages the content to be spread to other users widely. This concept is seen to be increasingly relevant with the widespread spread of internet videos over the past few years. This gives a great impact to various business enterprises and influences them to switch from traditional advertising methods to social media advertising methods that involve the use of online videos. In order to achieve high sales targets and increase customers' desire for products, content creators tend to be more open in producing content that can attract customers' attention and get a lot of sharing. This allows the spread of unethical content to continue to be widespread due to the effects of globalisation and is seen to have a major impact on society's civilisation. This study uses descriptive data analysis based on literature highlights from various articles that have gone through the review process to validate the published data, including a review of the original manuscript by field experts focusing on viral videos involving Muslim SME products and related components with the aim of illustrating and summarising the occurring events and phenomena. The results of the study suggest that the ethical and moral framework be applied in the production of viral videos in Malaysia with the hope of improving law enforcement and providing improvements to existing programs, practices and policies.