By: Yunus Husein (Chair of Jambi Regional Independent Social Media Activists Forum)
Lately, many public media have been intensively reporting the Covid-19 outbreak. Both social media, online mass media, or print media both internationally and nationally. We need to know, that Covid-19 began to enter Indonesia in early March 2020. That is, to this day Covid-19 has entered its third month and is expected to continue into the next few months.
This is in the spotlight for many media to continue to report on the development of Covid-19. Various news on television stations, print media such as newspapers and magazines, internet, and other media, continue to show the development of Covid-19. Not only that, they also socialized how to anticipate the impact of Covid-19.
Meanwhile the public continues to follow developments from Covid-19, and even disseminates information obtained through their respective social media accounts. Some upload via Instagram, Facebook, and some make a status or spread through social media groups.
This may be a form of public awareness of the dangers of Covid-19. They share information because they feel they care about each other. But what was done by this community is completely correct?
The number of reports from various media makes filtering out whether or not information will be very difficult. Can be seen, when opening our social media, then we will find many versions of the news Covid-19. For example, when opening an Instagram account, it was mentioned that in Indonesia, Covid-19 had attacked 140 lives. While on Instagram account B, it is mentioned that co-19 has claimed 150 lives. Isn’t it different?
Not to mention if we open the WhatsApp application. A doctor’s status revealed that the Covid-19 virus could die when it was at 50 degrees. Different again when looking at the status of the school security guard, Covid-19 virus can die when it is in the temperature range of 20 degrees. Carelessness in disseminating information that we do can endanger others.
Efforts to Prevent Hoax Spread
Responding to this, WHO said it would collaborate with various social media platforms. It is hoped that all people who want to get information about Covid-19 have access to the official website of WHO or their respective governments.
Likewise, the government, through the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, besides cooperating with social media platforms to remove sites that display and disseminate hoaxes, they also work with the police, so there are strict legal sanctions for hoaxers.
So what is the step in our real contribution as a community in counteracting hoaxes?
Bertabayyun before disseminating news
What is Tabayyun? According to the tabayyun language means researching first. Tabayyun is a tradition for Muslims in particular, and generally for all of us to be careful in spreading news. One time we get news that is not yet clear, so it is good to check and find the source first. So that when we disseminate a news the truth can be justified.
Remind each other
One time we learned that, one of our friends spread hoax / misinformation about the anticipated steps of Covid-19. It is our duty to remind you to immediately delete the posts that he has sent, so that the wrong anticipation steps about Covid-19 are not followed by many people.
Post useful information
In addition to taking precautions, we also need to plunge against hoax information by spreading the truth / facts that actually come from clear sources. With that, we also help to increase public literacy to be healthy in social media.
Some of the steps above need to be done to prevent the spread of hoaxes. Let’s together prevent the spread of hoaxes for Indonesia Forward.