By: Nana Gunawan
The implementation of the 2024 regional head elections is just around the corner. As the regional elections approach, the spread of hoaxes and black campaigns tends to become increasingly rampant. The emerging hoaxes generally not only target political figures who will contest in the 2024 regional elections but also attack the credibility of political parties, party leaders, and even the supporters of opposing political parties.
Various hoaxes that are spread usually consist of false news related to identity politics, SARA issues, or other accusations that manipulate the content of black campaign materials. Therefore, in order to realize a peaceful and conducive regional election, strong synergy among all parties is needed.
Hoaxes not only have the potential to influence and undermine the common sense of their readers, but they can also impact the delegitimization of the electoral process in local elections. In fact, the uncontrolled spread of hoaxes and black campaigns on social media can disrupt peace and even lead to disintegration or open conflict within society.
The spread of hoaxes and black campaigns is clearly counterproductive to the development of democracy in the country. The act of undermining political opponents through various negative propaganda, besides being unhealthy, often leads to the damage of the credibility of figures and political institutions. Black campaigns and hoaxes that are repeatedly conveyed and continuously recycled can make it difficult for the public to distinguish between true and false information, leading to challenges in obtaining the accuracy of any information.
The rampant spread of hoaxes and black campaigns disseminated intensively through various social media platforms will take its toll. Many people are swayed and caught up in unclear ideological conflicts, which can lead to uncritical thinking within society. The presence of the internet and social media has created a habitus that allows for the acceleration of the emergence of hoaxes to occur more frequently and widely. It cannot be denied that the emergence of hoaxes and black campaigns is an unavoidable risk in regional elections.
The Chairman of the Protestant Church of Maluku (GPM), Pastor Ellias Maspaitella, stated that the 2024 Simultaneous Regional Elections should be part of the process of enhancing the practice of the third principle, which is the Unity of Indonesia, in order to realize justice and equitable prosperity. Diversity must be an important component in the realization of the nation’s children nurturing democracy in Indonesia. The upcoming regional elections should serve as a momentum to strengthen the unity and integrity of the nation. Regional elections are one way to nurture democracy. The regional elections are also part of competition and contestation. Seeing this phenomenon, local elections are an effort for every community, both citizens and political parties, to compete and collaborate in the orderly and peaceful conduct of the elections. They hope that local political party leaders can maintain a conducive atmosphere and demonstrate maturity in politics, as well as become agents of peace and unifiers within the community.
Meanwhile, the Kapuas District Government held a Dialogue on Religious Harmony in the Context of Achieving a Safe, Peaceful, and Harmonious Simultaneous Regional Election in 2024, with the theme “Weaving Harmony Amid the Dynamics of the 2024 Regional Election.” The Head of the National Unity and Politics Agency (Kesbangpol) of Central Kalimantan Province, Yunabut, stated that this activity should serve as a forum for fostering interfaith harmony and become a very valuable moment in achieving peace amid the dynamics of religious communities.
They also emphasized that every Regional Government must regularly hold interfaith dialogues ahead of the Simultaneous Regional Elections in 2024 to strengthen mutual understanding, foster a sense of tolerance, and tighten the bonds of brotherhood. This is due to the challenges faced by Indonesia as a diverse nation, which include social conflicts, issues related to ethnicity, religion, race, and inter-group relations (SARA), hate speech, and misinformation.
A good and high-quality regional election, from the process to the counting of results, certainly requires a good mechanism. The potential vulnerabilities in the regional elections should be viewed as challenges that must be faced together so that all elements of society can synergize, collaborate, and share a common concern in maintaining peace during the 2024 elections.
It is hoped that with the collaboration and active participation of all parties to prevent the spread of hoaxes and black campaigns on social media, the simultaneous regional elections in November 2024 can proceed smoothly, safely, and peacefully, leading to a better democracy in Indonesia.
For the millennial and Gen Z generations, who use gadgets more than other generations, if this is not balanced with readiness in critical media literacy to respond to objective news, they can easily fall into provocation or hoaxes that could harm the course of the regional elections. To prevent and be vigilant about this, one of the key factors is critical literacy support and strong collaboration among all parties.
The writer is a Political Observer at Nusa Bangsa Institute.