By: Mustajab )*
The rise of fake news or hoaxes about Covid-19 circulating on social media, has resulted in people not believing in the existence of Corona. Even refusing to wear masks and being vaccinated, so that this can hinder the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia.
The surge in cases Covid- 19 is not yet fully resolved, this outbreak is still a test for Indonesia, it is in perparah with the amount of information that is not verified circulating on social media (Medsos) which would lead to unrest, potentially menur unkan community immunity power. It is important to provide literacy and education to the public to always filter news on social media so that it is not detrimental.
The Minister of Communication and Information ( Menkominfo ), Johnny G. Plate said, currently the world, especially Indonesia, is not only facing the Covid-19 pandemic situation, but is facing the infodemic challenges that are currently increasingly prevalent. Infodemic leads to excess information about a problem, so that its emergence can interfere with efforts to find solutions to the problem.
The rise of hoax information circulating on social media has an impact on many people who ultimately choose to ignore health protocols , and do not want to be vaccinated . Whereas public awareness to comply with health protocols and follow the vaccination process is the key to getting out of this Covid-19 pandemic .
Technological progress does in the end have two blades, which if not interpreted properly can actually have a bad impact, the impact is the increasingly massive circulation of hoax information , causing unrest in the community, another danger of misinformation is that it creates a misunderstanding of the wider community in receiving information .
In the end, people must understand the technology and information circulating on social media, don’t get carried away easily by the flow of information. The public must see how big the sacrifices have been made by health workers and the government, to suppress the spread of Covid-19 . Therefore, we do not because the information is not clear inedible asa l proposal and has yet to be p ertanggungjawabkan truth .
The public is also expected not to immediately spread invalid information without confirming the truth of the contents of the news first, especially now that the government is trying hard to overcome the pandemic.
To avoid exposure to information hoaxes , we must pay attention to the source of the information, if it comes if the information is derived from the accounts fake should not be left off or at least check the information in a media platform that reliable either media mainstr ea m or platform y ang provided by the government including the Kominfo website which has a fact check.
)* The author is a Social Media Activist living in Bandung
