By: Rizal Adi Pradana
Before explaining about the concept of hoax, it is necessary to understand in advance about the definition of hoax, according to KBBI (Big Indonesian Dictionary) hoax is a hoax, hoax itself is a term for false news that is made by several persons who are not responsible for misleading and leading public opinion , so the facts on the ground can be swiped or replaced. Today there are a lot of hoax news that is scattered in digital media both spread by individuals and corporations with various motives. Of course this causes noise in the community who consume these issues ranging from accusing each other to killing each other just for silly reasons that are not necessarily true. From here culture has an important role in combating hoaxes, because a healthy culture will fortify every community in digesting and filtering every incoming information. Therefore, from this article, let us examine one by one starting from the common thread that causes the fertility of the hoax news business in Indonesia and how to fight it.
The difficulty of Indonesian people to accept the reality even though it hurts is the first problem at this time. Whether intentionally or not, Indonesian people tend to be difficult to accept honesty that is not in accordance with their expectations. People will start to get angry or sad if someone gives information that they think is negative even though it is a truth that has happened. So that makes people who provide information either intentionally or unintentionally give false information in order to avoid anger or sadness of people who are given information. A small example is, a student who got a bad grade at an exam for fear of being scolded by his parents made him lie that his grades were okay. A small culture like this that has been nurtured since childhood makes a person feel even more innocent when making a bigger lie in the future.
Second, sensitive behavior towards a certain person or group. This sensitive behavior tends to excessive feelings of like or dislike in a particular person or group. Almost like racism, this behavior makes a person can no longer judge information in a neutral manner and tends to be biased. This causes someone to be in a hurry in making decisions and only put forward their egos and feelings. In fact, in every digest of information we must be able to be neutral so that it reaches a more appropriate and fair decision. A recent example was during the presidential election, a handful of people spread the issue that one of the presidential candidates was the descendants and accomplices of the PKI (Indonesian Communist Party). Of course this news cannot be accounted for because the fact cannot be verified, if you may think personally is that this issue is the most ridiculous, communism is a rusty ideology that would not even be able to stand in the current era, even countries that claim they are communists -socialists are now starting to shift to liberal ideologies, for example China and Russia, so there is an overreaction about the rise of the PKI in Indonesia. But strangely, there are still many Indonesian people who are consumed by the issue, even though logically there is no longer any place for the ideology to reenter.
Third, lazy behavior to read and find information from other references. According to a study from “Most Littered Nation in the World” conducted by Central Connecticut State University in March 2016, Indonesia ranked 60 out of 61 countries regarding reading interest. From this we can immediately draw the conclusion that Indonesian people tend to be lazy to read let alone compare the information he obtained with other references, instead more often conclude information only from bits and pieces that cause misperceptions and cause issues that develop wildly in society . Still often happens in the community, someone receives news that they find interesting and screenshots from his smartphone, then they spread it to the family whatsapp group without explaining the contents of the news because he himself just reads the title, then ends up making fun of the figure or group that was appointed. this news without knowing the essence raised by the writer or reporter in the media.
From the above data it can be concluded that culture or bad habits in the community can foster the development of hoax news in Indonesia. It is difficult to change bad habits and the process is not biased instantaneously, but start with small things such as being honest with yourself, family, and society. Because there is no harm in telling the truth, it is precisely by lying we are like preparing a time bomb that is ready to explode at any time. Next, let’s start getting used to reading diligently, as the term “book is a window to the world” with frequent reading will make us not easily fooled and become important provisions in the future. And finally, so that we do not judge someone only by news or issues whose truth is not yet clear, we can recognize that we can judge how the person’s personality and personality are. My opinion hates it tiring, finding fault with others without us introspecting ourselves whether it is better or not. Our lives are too sacred and precious to be haters. Hoax is like a cancer that is day to day undermine the unity and personality of our polite nation. The spirit of my people, let’s compete with each other in achievement and work without hating and berating.