The government, through various steps and its strong commitment, emphasizes strategic actions in maintaining the integrity of the 2024 election process. From taking takedown action on content indicated as hoaxes to efforts to encourage healthy discussion, are the main points of their strategy. It is hoped that this initiative will have a positive impact in improving the quality of democracy and guarding against the circulation of detrimental information.
In facing this information war, the Government has made a strong commitment to preventing the spread of hoaxes, slander and hate speech during the 2024 election campaign.
Minister of Communication and Information (Menkominfo) Budi Arie Setiadi stated his commitment to ensuring that the democratic process runs fairly, safely and peacefully. As a prevention effort, the Minister of Communication and Information emphasized the strategy of removing content that is indicated to contain hoaxes, slander or hate speech.
At the “Your Money Your Vote” event on CNBC Indonesia’s Closing Bell Program, Budi Arie Setiadi firmly underlined the need to maintain democratic quality standards by promoting healthy discussion and putting forward ideas that contribute to the election process.
He voiced his desire for society to be actively involved in expressing diverse ideas, in order to improve the overall quality of the democratic process. This event will be held on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.
According to him, every issue that arises will go through a verification process by Kominfo to ensure the truth of the information. If it is indicated as fake news, slander, or hate speech, takedown action will be taken immediately. In an effort to monitor information, Kominfo has implemented a cyber patrol mechanism and provided the public with the opportunity to report content that is considered disturbing.
Budi Arie Setiadi explained that his party could take takedown steps towards content indicated as hoaxes either through internal initiatives or based on reports submitted by the public.
The public is also advised to use social media wisely to avoid spreading fake news. Even though the number of hoaxes during the election campaign has decreased, Kominfo continues to monitor the information circulating.
On the other hand, the Director General of Information and Public Communication of the Ministry of Communication and Information, Usman Kansong, emphasized that content in the nature of black campaigns and hoaxes is increasingly widespread in the digital realm, especially on social media, during the 2024 Election campaign period.
Therefore, the government through Kominfo together with the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) and the Indonesian National Police (Polri) implemented a multi-layered filtering strategy to inhibit the circulation of this content.
Usman Kansong explained that every day, for 24 hours, the Ministry of Communication and Information actively filters various content with the help of machine technology and artificial intelligence. The analyst team from the Ministry of Communication and Information identifies the content that has been filtered, and if it is proven to be a hoax or misinformation, takedown steps can be taken immediately.
However, there are challenges in distinguishing between negative campaigns and black campaigns. For this matter, Usman emphasized the importance of Bawaslu’s role in carrying out objective assessments of content that is difficult to identify.
Efforts to reduce content that is declared a hoax or black campaign also require coordination with service provider platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram.
The public is also given an active role in monitoring hoax content or black campaigns. In this case, the public can report content that is considered disturbing through the election monitoring desk initiated by the Ministry of Communication and Information, Bawaslu and the National Police.
Apart from prevention efforts, enforcement steps by the National Police are also needed to deal with criminal violations related to the spread of hoaxes or black campaigns. Usman emphasized that accounts that often spread false information will be the target of action if they are proven to have violated the law during the election period.
It is hoped that this multi-layered screening involving relevant agencies can become a strong bulwark in preventing the circulation of detrimental information in the context of the 2024 elections. Government commitment and cross-institutional collaboration are key in maintaining the integrity and smoothness of the democratic process in Indonesia.
With the complexity and very fast speed of information, the spread of hoaxes poses a serious threat to a healthy democratic process. Therefore, the commitment and strategic steps implemented by the government are an important point in ensuring that the 2024 elections take place in an atmosphere that is fair, dignified and free from manipulation of detrimental information.
The importance of healthy digital content supervision and integrity in the 2024 elections cannot be ignored. The government’s commitment together with Bawaslu, Polri, and active community participation are the main foundations for maintaining the quality of democracy in the current digital era.
With this synergy, we are all responsible for realizing a fair and transparent election process, avoiding hoaxes, slander and black campaigns for the sake of a better democratic future.
With the government’s concrete steps and the active role of society, it is hoped that the 2024 Election will be a valuable momentum to strengthen democracy and justice for all elements of Indonesian society.
This is our shared role in securing a true democratic process. With collaboration and commitment, let’s maintain the integrity of information in order to realize healthy and democratic elections.
