By: Agung Suwandaru )*
Hoax news is now increasingly becoming public. Therefore, the press is expected to be the front guard in the fight against hoaxes by reporting information that is factual.
Online media is now the most widely used communication channel. With the internet, news is easier to access in a matter of minutes. The latest news about sports, finance, beauty, and even politics can certainly add to your horizons. The latest news is also not spread not only through the official website of online media, but also through social media.
However, false news is of course unavoidable. Even though many media have tried to present content that is factual, Indonesian people are still consumed by hoax news, which of course can have a negative impact on the survival of society. For example, there was social panic, even divisions between tribes and religions.
Hoax is created on the basis of individual and group interests. According to Information Technology and Computer Crime Lecturer Kisnu, a hoax is made by someone who is smart, but has bad intentions. Consumers are good people who are not able to analyze the truth of the news.
Irresponsible perpetrators wrap the news in such a way that it looks like factual and trusted news. To deceive readers, they play logic, so that a person no longer needs to question its authenticity. Worse, the news is easily spread through social media, so that not only one person is affected by the hoax news.
To combat hoax news, regulations and concrete actions from the parties concerned are needed, one of which is the press. As an information media, the press has various positive functions to be responsible for disseminating information about the success and progress of development to the wider community.
Rosarita Niken Wisiastuti believes that the press is one of the pillars of democracy. The national press is a forum for the public to express their aspirations, so that freedom has a special place based on Law Number 40 of 1999 concerning the Press.
According to women who have served as Director General of Information and Public Communication (IKP) of the Ministry of Communication and Information, hoaxes are not a journalistic product. Therefore, journalists must be able to fight it and provide accurate information to the public in accordance with the journalistic code of ethics.
Then, what should the press do against hoax news?
The press should focus more on filtering out the news circulating in the community. News that is factual, and favors truth is very much needed. The way to do this is that they must be able to educate the Indonesian people with factual and reliable news.
How, the press can get factual news after verifying. Reporters must visit the scene or contact the party concerned. For example, when natural disasters occur, journalists cannot simply take information from social media. They have to jump into the field to get real information.
To combat hoaxes, the press can also filter information from more than one source. Each informant will be asked for information related to the news that is happening. Journalists, of course, must write the data as it is. If the informant says A, the reporter must write it that way and is not allowed to add or subtract the information in any form.
Along with the development of an increasingly age and increasingly advanced technology, the press must continue to prioritize the content of news content to combat the hoax that is currently so rampant. Therefore, the press must uphold the journalistic code of ethics contained in the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 40 of 1999 concerning the Press.
In conclusion, hoaxes certainly have a negative impact on the survival of Indonesian people. To combat this, the role of the press is urgently needed. There are several things that can be done, namely verifying information so that the data obtained is proven valid, and conducting interviews with more than one resource.
In order not to be consumed by hoaxes, the public must also be good at sorting out news. The trick is to multiply reading so that reason can be fortified well. Lack of interest in reading causes Indonesian people to be easily consumed by hoaxes, especially now that the news is widely spread on social media. With these two things, hoaxes can be handled well.
)* The author is a Jakarta Student Association Contributor (PMJ)