Kendal Regency Bawaslu Chair, Odilia Amy Wardayani asked the public to continue to be vigilant about hoaxes in the 2024 Election which are widely circulating on social media.
Not only that, but the public is also continuously invited to be able to play a role in overseeing the spread of false information and news containing hate speech.
The goal is that the implementation of the 2024 elections can be carried out smoothly, safely and conducively.
Odilia continued that indeed at the time leading up to the 2024 Election, the trend of spreading hoax news seemed to be increasing.
Therefore, he and various stakeholders continue to be determined to carry out many special surveillance strategies.
One of the efforts to prevent the spread of hoax news to the public is to continue to provide education and outreach about the impact of social media if it is not used properly.
“This is also a step or effort to prevent the occurrence of fake news and hate speech, by providing outreach to the wider community regarding information and the impact of electronic media that is not used properly,” explained Odilia.
In the same vein, the Head of Information and Public Communication at the Kendal Regency Kominfo Service, Ahmad Syahrul Falah also advised the public to be aware of the circulation of hoax news and hate speech.
The reason is, according to him, the existence of hate speech and hoax news is very provocative and capable of breaking harmony and unity.
Apart from that, according to him, the existence of fake news usually circulates a lot on social media, so he advised that the use of social media must be carried out properly by the public.
“Hoax news and hate speech often appear on social media (social media), so we really have to be able to use social media properly,” said Ahmad Syahrul.
There is a way to anticipate that the public will not be consumed by fake news on social media, namely when you get information, you should double-check and look at the official institution regarding the information obtained.
“If we encounter this, we should check first, by asking people who understand it, as well as official institutions regarding the information we get, so that we are not easily influenced,” he continued.
