By: M. Ambrizal )*
The riots in Wamena, Papua have destroyed all aspects of community and national life, resulting in material loss and loss of life. The racism set in the riots was triggered by hoax news circulating on social media. For this reason, the Wamena community and others must be aware of the hoax news for the sake of the unity and integrity of the Republic of Indonesia.
The riots that occurred in Wamena some time ago resulted in damage and paralysis of various community facilities. In addition, there were around 16 people died and 65 people suffered injuries, the majority of which were civil society. According to Papuan Police Public Relations, the riots began as a result of Hoax being spread in the community. The hoax contained the alleged news of a teacher’s racist remarks towards his students. This provoked students and students to emerge so that demonstrations led to riots by burning several government offices, community-owned shophouses, motorized vehicles, kiosks and PLN offices. The riots had a major impact on several activities which were stopped due to damage and burning of several facilities and infrastructure in Wamena.
In the riots in Wamena, it can be seen how dangerous Hoaxes are. Moreover, the Hoax is seasoned with Ethnic, Religious, Racial and Intergroup (SARA) which can cause emotional turmoil and rationality so that it can cause various conflicts in the community and threaten national unity such as misunderstanding that causes slander and triggers riots. The Wamena community must be aware of the spread of Hoax which can add to or even lead to new conflicts and riots that will arise.
The impact of the spread of Hoax is very dangerous, but that does not mean Hoax can not be prevented and overcome. For this reason, the community must develop a sense of curiosity to check and ensure the truth of the information received. In preventing hoaxes, the public must be careful of provocative titles, because often hoax news has titles that invite sensations, such as provoking or provocative. In fact, sometimes the contents are taken from the media or official newspapers. It’s just a little changed to fit the perceptions of the makers of Hoax. Then ensure the authenticity of the source of information and the authenticity of photos or videos distributed, because the news and information is also widely spread in the form of photos that have been manipulated. Fake news makers may have edited a photo and then broadcast it to the internet with the intention of provoking. However, the authenticity of a photo can be ensured its authenticity with the Google Images search engine with the images.google.com link.
To prevent Hoax, people can also join anti-Hoax discussion groups. There are many anti-Hoax groups on social media and seminars that are useful for discussing when there is a new controversy. You can join and listen to find out whether the information that has been disseminated is a Hoax or indeed the information is true or in accordance with facts. This will open the minds of the public to be more aware of the Hoax. If you get Hoax information, the public must immediately report to the Ministry of Communication and Information via e-mail aduankonten@mail.kominfo.go.id.
In an effort to maintain a conducive situation in this country, we must prevent the Hoax information that is widely circulated in the community. We must not allow conflicts and riots in society to continue to occur as a result of the influence of Hoax information or news. Because to prevent and overcome the Hoax is not too difficult, do not have to be a technology expert or a political expert, the public only needs to be really vigilant and care about the dissemination of Hoax information, especially Hoax that brings SARA issues such as in Wamena which results in riots that have to sacrifice lives Do not let us give space and opportunity to the spread of Hoax that will be at risk of returning to take casualties in Indonesia, especially Tanah Papua.
*) The author is a Social Media Activist