By: Reni Permatasari (Chair of the Cirebon Regional Independent Social Media Activists Forum)
The spread of the Corona Virus alias Covid-19 is increasingly widespread, also accompanied by the spread of unclear news ( hoaxes ) that enter the timeline of citizens +62. The speech varies, ranging from uploading netizens who say that there are already residents in Makassar who are positive about Corona to Corona can spread through the air which disturbs the sanity of public media.
Not only is the physical and spiritual course yabg must bear sanity. Our daily activities also need to be healthy and avoid deviant behavior. Likewise with the public media, sane bermedia be an element that must be met. Failure to receive and process information from various timelines is very vulnerable to channeling error so that the user’s mentality can be influenced.
Public media sanity is a sign of the health of a community. Sane society depends on sane individuals. Sane referred to here is a willingness to maintain unity, brotherhood, peace, national integrity, diversity, and all other positive things. And it turns out according to the last survey, internet users and social media are mostly millennial .
A survey conducted by the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII) shows that, 25 million or around 80% of internet users are millennial , 90s, and 80s. Thus it can be concluded, that the healthy and sane of public space, depends on millennial individuals . If positive values are voiced in public spaces by millennials , peace and unity will occur. But if on the contrary, public space is filled with expressions of hatred, hoaxes , racism, and intolerance, then the noise will occur.
The Danger of Hoax Can Kill Humans
The spread of hoax news that lately is increasingly popular by utilizing the Corona Virus outbreak is also increasing. As of April 1, 2020 the number of hoax news reached 405 cases. This figure will continue to surge if there is no public awareness. The public must understand if hoaxes can kill. The following is the impact of a hoax if left unchecked,
1. Hoaxes can kill human characters. In hoaxes there are manipulations and cheats that can bring down humans themselves. A long period of time, the community’s mentality will be formed towards the understanding of hoaxes . It’s easy to believe in hoax news that is packaged in such a way, as if wearing horse glasses without regard to comparison or clarification of news / information.
2. Lying news triggers public panic. The people’s mind suddenly becomes imaginary imagining a terrible situation without thinking about the interests of others. For example, the issue of lockdown that makes prices on the market rise sharply. The rich might not mind this situation very much, but the middle to lower classes are very difficult to deal with this difficult situation.
3. Hoax is a public fraud. If we knew Mama in the early 2000s asking for credit, today the form of hoax fraud is more structured. As if the hoax affects the entire sector of life, so people do not have time to clarify the truth.
Hoaxes or hoaxes are things that can kill. It’s only natural that our hoaxes cannot be accepted and must be killed as soon as possible before he kills us.
If doctors and medical personnel are currently at the forefront in dealing with Covid-19 patients, then it is better for citizens to provide educative information about reporting about Corona . Careful acceptance and giving of information is very necessary to protect the lives of others.
This is a form of solidarity. When all levels and lines can work together and be actively involved in fighting the virus, do not be busy blaming here and there without providing a solution. Let’s treat optimism by destroying the Covid-19 hoax that is hampering the completion of the Covid-19 pandemic.
