By: Billy Wicaksono) *
Is it too much if we call this era a hoax era? Yes it might be excessive, because there is still a lot of true and reliable information. However, we also cannot deny that the amount of hoaxes or hoax is huge, and may be produced every day.
The Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) announced the discovery of hoaxes for April 2019. During this month, the Ministry of Communication and Information identified 486 hoaxes. The number of hoaxes is the highest since August 2018.
The total number of hoaxes that were successfully obtained by the Ais machine was later identified, verified and validated by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics to 1,731 hoaxes from August 2018 to April 2019. 1,731 hoaxes were successfully identified, verified and validated by Kominfo. Then the question is, how many hoaxes have escaped identification? It is possible that hoax news can escape the system created by the Ministry of Communication and Information.
Why do we need to discuss hoaxes, is it dangerous? Academic Komarudin Hidayat said the scourge of spreading hoax or hoaxes was like the circulation of narcotics and pornography. If left unchecked, he said, hoax news could endanger and harm the community.
The former chancellor of Jakarta’s Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University added, hoaxes are criminal acts in the cyber area. Hoax is said to come from mental attitudes that override integrity, especially hoaxes that appear in the name of religion.
Another anti-hoax ambassador, Olga Lidya, said that the emergence of hoax news today is like the propaganda of the Nazi regime in Germany before World War II. Hoax becomes dangerous if it is spread continuously because it will make people who initially doubted to believe.
There have been many examples of hoaxes taking their toll. The latest event is a hoax related to racism saying that triggered the outbreak of riots in Wamena, Papua. The death toll also fell. People are reminded not to be easily provoked and joined in
This fact is also used by certain parties with various interests. They deliberately spread information aimed at provoking emotions and provoking.
Literacy and Education: Community Weapons in the Digital Age
Experts hold the same view that literacy is important in combating hoaxes. Those who take part in checking the facts are those who have had media literacy from the start and are often skeptical. Those who are not so skeptical are far more likely to spread the word immediately without checking. “
Literacy levels in Indonesia are still very low, and this has the potential to make people vulnerable to being trapped by hoaxes. We must increase literacy levels to save our future in the digital world.
Information Technology (IT) expert from Yogyakarta Duta Wacana Krsiten University Budi Sutedjo explained, media literacy is also related to the ability of readers to browse and critique information, and rewrite information. “If readers’ literacy is low, it is very easy for readers to be deceived by hoax news, news or information that is made as if true, as if convincing,” he said.
*) The author is an activist at Nusapers.com