Jakarta – On the social media timelines of Twitter and YouTube, a hoax video is circulating again, namely a video of President Jokowi’s speech using Mandarin in an international forum. Responding to this content, Indonesian Communicologist Emrus Sihombing said that the video was a hoax which could cause misperceptions in society.
“The original video was actually President Jokowi’s speech in English, but with the help of Artificial Intelligence, the video was manipulated so that President Jokowi appeared to be fluent in Mandarin,” said Emrus.
The observer and political communication expert from Pelita Harapan University (UPH) also said that the virality of the video on the timeline could trigger debate and concerns that hoaxes could influence public perception.
“Because the original video is in English, the video that is translated by the source should be delivered in the original language, namely English. “Even if it is a translation, it will be in text form,” said Emrus.
Furthermore, Emrus added that the Mandarin translation in text form would make it easier for the public to understand that in fact President Jokowi delivered a speech in English.
“In the video, President Jokowi appears to be speaking fluently in Mandarin. “Therefore, many observers and artificial intelligence experts urge the public to remain alert to the possibility that the video is hoax content to discredit President Jokowi,” explained Emrus.
At the same time, Emrus also appealed to the Ministry of Communication and Information as the regulator in the media realm to stop the spread of this manipulative video. This is important because these hoax videos are vulnerable to being used by certain groups to discredit President Jokowi.
“For this reason, the public needs to verify and crosscheck the information circulating before sharing it again because it is vulnerable to giving rise to negative opinions in society about President Jokowi, especially ahead of the 2024 elections,” said Emrus.