By: Willy Pratama
Ahead of the 2024 regional elections, the big challenge faced by Indonesian society is the widespread spread of SARA (Ethnicity, Religion, Race and Intergroup) hoaxes and provocations on social media. This phenomenon not only threatens the smooth running of the democratic process, but also has the potential to divide national unity. Therefore, various parties, including the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) and social media activists, have taken strategic steps to prevent the spread of false and provocative information. Here are some positive steps taken to meet this challenge.Bawaslu has realized how big the influence of social media is in shaping public opinion. For this reason, Bawaslu will collaborate with admins of social media accounts that have influence in the regions. This step is very smart because local social media admins have closeness and trust from their community, so they can disseminate valid information regarding the 2024 Pilkada more effectively.Bawaslu member, Herwyn JH Malonda, stated that this collaboration was part of a strategy to increase people’s digital literacy, especially regarding Pilkada. By involving social media admins, Bawaslu hopes to invite all elements of the nation to actively participate in conveying correct information and preventing the spread of hoaxes.Apart from that, Bawaslu also involves content creators in digital literacy efforts. Content creators have the ability to convey messages in a way that is interesting and easy for the public to understand. With the support of content creators, important messages about the importance of verifying information, how to recognize hoaxes, and the negative impact of spreading fake news can be conveyed more effectively.Recky Aldhera, a content creator from Majalengka, emphasized the important role of the community, especially the younger generation, in creating regional elections that are peaceful and free from hoaxes. According to Recky, increasing digital literacy is one of the most effective ways to fight the spread of hoaxes. Digital literacy involves not only the ability to use technology, but also the ability to understand, evaluate and verify the information received.Validating any information obtained is very important, especially information that will be disseminated to a wider audience, such as in WhatsApp groups and other social media platforms . Don’t let the information disseminated turn out to be a hoax. Education on how to recognize the authenticity of information needs to be encouraged. The public can use fact-checking sites to ensure the authenticity of the news they receive.To create safe, smooth and peaceful regional elections, as well as produce the best leaders for the region, there needs to be participation from all elements of society. Synergy between society, government, media and election organizers such as the KPU and Bawaslu is very necessary. Education and digital literacy need to be improved so that people are more critical in receiving information and are not easily influenced by fake news.Hoax content and information can be countered with cooperation between society, the media and the government. When the public finds a hoax, immediately report it to the authorities such as the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kemenkominfo) or West Java Saber Hoaks. That way, hoaxes can be handled immediately and not spread widely.Herwyn JH Malonda also emphasized the importance of conveying information regarding potential leaders, their vision, mission and self-image in a polite and factual manner. Pilkada is not only about choosing leaders, but also about the process of political education for the community. By conveying information politely, we can create a healthy and positive political climate.Bawaslu is currently identifying vulnerabilities that will be included in the 2024 Election Vulnerability Index (IKP). This step is important to anticipate the spread of hoaxes which are predicted to occur frequently during the campaign stage and before the vote. By knowing vulnerable areas, Bawaslu can take early preventive steps to ensure that the regional elections run safely and smoothly.Apart from that, Chairman of the Banggai Laut General Election Commission (KPU) Syahrudin M. Tintis asked the public not to be easily provoked by issues of ethnicity, religion, race between groups (SARA) and false information or hoax news circulating on social media. In fact, there are two major stages in the 2024 regional elections that will be carried out in the democratic party, namely the first, the preparation stage and the second, the implementation stage. To make the 2024 Pilkada a success, cooperation and involvement from all levels of society is needed, for this reason the support of the Regency Government, Forkopimda, members of the press , religious leaders, youth organizations and also all elements of society is very necessary for this big agenda.Collaboration between Bawaslu, KPU with social media admins and content creators, as well as increasing digital literacy, are very positive steps in efforts to ward off SARA hoaxes and provocations on social media ahead of the 2024 Pilkada. Support and active participation from all elements of society are very necessary to ensure that The regional elections ran safely, smoothly and peacefully. In this way, we can together create healthy and civilized political competition for the sake of a better future for the nation. Let us support this effort and together maintain the integrity of the 2024 Pilkada, for the sake of creating a better and better quality democracy in Indonesia.*Writer contributing to the Window Reading Institute