Jakarta – Associate Professor of Riau Islamic University, Dr. Fatmawati, said that the public needs to be equipped with a deep understanding so that they can play an active role in the political process, as well as prevent money politics and the spread of hoaxes. Ahead of the 2024 Pilkada, political education is an important element in building public awareness of a healthy and fair democracy.
According to Dr. Fatmawati, political education has a significant role in increasing public political participation.
“Good political education enables people to be more critical of political promises and not be easily influenced by the enticement of money politics,” he said.
With a deeper understanding, people can make rational decisions and not get caught up in offers of money politics that often appear before regional elections.
Fatmawati found that in the practice of money politics, the value of the money distributed ranged from Rp100,000 to Rp300,000, and sometimes even in the form of goods such as magic coms, fans, or TVs. The public often looks forward to gifts from candidates, even though regulations in the Election Law No. 07 of 2017 prohibit this practice.
“The many practices of money politics are caused by weak law enforcement and the short campaign time of candidates in society,” added Dr. Fatmawati.
In addition, the circulation of hoaxes on social media also increased sharply during the campaign period. With wide access in the digital era, hoaxes have become a destructive tool that is often used to spread negative campaigns and black campaigns.
“The trend of hoaxes in political news becomes most dominant in the run-up to the election,” said Dr. Fatmawati.
She emphasized that the public must improve digital literacy, so that they can sort out valid information and not get trapped by black campaigns circulating on social media. Dr. Fatmawati also reminded the importance of public vigilance in receiving and sharing information on social media.
“Messages received must be read carefully, analyzed, and cross-checked before finally being shared,” he said.
Strong digital literacy is expected to be able to fortify society from the dangers of hoaxes that can damage the integrity of the democratic process. With the increasing maturity of political education, society is expected to not only be participants, but also become drivers of positive social change.
People who understand their rights and obligations will tend to be more active in monitoring policies, demanding accountability, and maintaining the integrity of democracy, which ultimately supports the creation of honest, fair, and clean regional elections free from money politics and hoaxes.