By: Rizky Pratama
The public is advised to be wary of spreading fake news or hoaxes and narratives full of provocation and propaganda from irresponsible parties regarding the 2024 Regional Head Election (Pilkada) in digital space and cyberspace.
The reason is, in an era like today, where the development of information, communication and digital technology is very significant, people even consider that social media is a daily need that cannot be separated from various sectors of their daily lives, of course there will be a lot of information dissemination. , be it factual or hoax news and provocative narratives.
If, for example, what is distributed is only accurate, factual information along with concrete data that occurs in the field, then there is no problem. However, the problem is that with the current development of social media, truth and lies seem to merge and are difficult to detect, including the spread of hoax news and provocations regarding the 2024 regional elections.
In the era of industrial revolution 4.0, where machines are highly integrated with each other or connected to the internet, this is when we enter a situation full of threats of disruption.
Currently is an era where past developments have been erased by new technological advances. For example, there is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robots which are starting to replace the role of humans.
According to Member of Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), Taufiq R Abdullah, today everyone is aware of the use of technology at various levels.
So there is a flood of information, which results in almost everything that humans need, especially regarding information that is on the internet and can be accessed very easily or freely by anyone without exception.
This clearly poses a challenge to the application of democratic principles in the digital era. Because, it is not impossible that when someone gets excessive information, they will tend to process the data they get through shortcuts.
Today the whole world, including people in Indonesia, is entering the post truth era, namely a situation where truth can be considered true even though it does not need to be based on real facts.
This truth affects the emotional network of someone who has the same opinion, so that in the era of information technology that is developing in such a way as it is now, it is possible that people will tend to ignore factual truths, because nowadays, the most important thing is how to convey something.
The question of whether the information is true or not is no longer something important in this era. As long as this information is continuously disseminated on various platforms including social media, it will become the truth.
Currently, there is a lot of fake content, hoaxes and also content that smacks of crime, including narratives of provocation or propaganda from irresponsible groups, available on social media, so many people consider it to be the truth.
From there, many conflicting attitudes emerged in society, because the good and the bad became very confused. This condition will get worse if people do not have good digital literacy skills, so they cannot detect or clarify which information is true and which is false.
Meanwhile, Digital Literacy Practitioner, R. Wijaya Kusumawardhana, highlighted the existence of a number of potential vulnerabilities in the regional elections, starting with excessive fanaticism and political pragmatism on social media.
Not only that, but social media can also become a breeding ground for various provocative narratives such as the politicization of Ethnicity, Religion, Race and Inter-Group (SARA) issues so that people are easily pitted against each other just because of these differences.
Fake news or hoaxes and hate speech also continue to be a very real threat in facing the upcoming Regional Head Election on social media. To prevent this, one thing people can do is continue to strengthen the values of Pancasila within themselves.
With strong Pancasila values, it is not impossible that the Pilkada will run smoothly and peacefully, then there must also be good digital literacy so that it is easy for people to distinguish between hoax news and provocative narratives on social media.
The message of peace must continue to be spread from the smallest circles, such as among friends, family or other communities to continue to maintain unity after the February 2024 General Election and in the context of preparation momentum for the upcoming November 2024 Regional Election.
Continue to be alert to the possibility of spreading fake news or hoaxes as well as issues and narratives that have a provocative tone and propaganda from irresponsible parties regarding anything, especially regarding regional elections in the digital space or cyberspace and social media which is very vulnerable to the spread of negative issues.
*) Political Observer at the Indomedia Gala Institute
