An effective digital literacy movement requires a systemic and continuous approach to train the public to think critically and prevent them from the trap of information manipulation.
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS — An effective digital literacy movement requires a systemic and continuous approach to train the public to think critically and prevent them from the trap of information manipulation. However, in Indonesia, hoaxes or disinformation are still often dealt with reactively, through the ups and downs of the measures and digital literacy that follow the momentum when hoaxes are rising, especially related to political issues.
In fact, it is not easy to identify hoaxes. Survey results of the National Movement for Digital Literacy (GNLD) Siberkreasi in March-November 2019 in 18 regencies/cities in Indonesia showed that 95.8 percent of 987 respondents claimed to have encountered hoaxes. However, the majority of respondents, namely 54.4 percent, claimed that they were sometimes confused about the content of hoaxes and facts. The majority of the survey respondents were educated people, such as teachers, pupils, students, employees, civil servants, entrepreneurs and content creators aged 15-45 years.
This condition is prone to cause problems. In the political context, information manipulation becomes a latent issue. Hoaxes are often used as weapons to bring down the reputation of political opponents and influence people\'s political preferences. In reality, in September 2020, Indonesia will face simultaneous regional head elections in 270 regions, as well as legislative elections, presidential elections and simultaneous regional elections in 2024.
The Global Disinformation Order report: 2019 Global Inventory of Organized Social Media Manipulation by the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, notes that in Indonesia, the information manipulator teams only operate actively when there is a large political agenda, such as regional elections and general elections.
This can also be seen from the trend of the past year, namely the circulation of hoaxes in Indonesia was mostly related to politics. Based on data from the Communications and Information Ministry, up to 3,801 hoaxes were found in 2019. In terms of themes, political issues dominated throughout 2019, namely with the finding of 922 hoaxes. Misinformation and disinformation were also related to the government, namely with the finding of 721 hoaxes.
After the election, hoax activities weakened. However, on the other hand, narratives about digital literacy also tended to diminish. Public interest in seeking information related to digital literacy fluctuates and sometimes goes hand in hand with certain political events or when hoaxes appear. This can be seen from Google Trends data that reveals that the trend of searching for the word "digital literacy" throughout 2019 showed a fairly sharp fluctuation pattern.
Structural problems
Indonesia New Media Watch director Agus Sudibyo said in Jakarta on Sunday (19/1/2020) that there was an imbalance between the magnitude of the problem of the spread of disinformation and its handling. Hoaxes have become structural problems that have an impact on various aspects of the life of the community, nation and state.
Various efforts have been made, both by the government or civil society and the community. However, in order to make them effective, the digital literacy approach as a solution to counteract hoaxes cannot be continuously in the form of ad hoc movement from the government or voluntary campaigns from civil society organizations. Digital literacy discourse in public spaces must be continuous, not seasonal or only when hoax cases that attract attention appear.
"All movements are important and show increasing awareness about the importance of digital literacy. However, that is not enough. Because this problem is systemic, a systemic response is also needed," said Agus, who is also a member of the Press Council.
The most needed systemic effort is to encourage the government to immediately include digital literacy education and critical thinking in the education curriculum.
The most needed systemic effort is to encourage the government to immediately include digital literacy education and critical thinking in the education curriculum. This has become a priority in many developed democratic countries, such as Finland. There digital literacy skills have been taught since children are in kindergarten age.
"Indonesia must move toward it, it cannot go back to using a seasonal approach that is only waiting for political momentum or the emergence of hoaxes," he said.
Priority problems
The executive director of Information and Communication Technologies, Donny BU, said that civil society groups had repeatedly emphasized that the digital literacy movement was not just like patching a leaky tire.
However, Donny also conceded that realizing the continuity of the digital literacy movement was not easy. Massive preparation is needed to educate teaching staff before implementing digital literacy in the compulsory curriculum. Political support from the government is important.
"It\'s about priorities. If digital literacy is not considered a priority and only looked into when there are certain cases then disappears after the case has subsided, the digital literacy movement will never run effectively," he said.
Along with digital literacy education that must be improved, actions to reduce the spread of hoaxes continue to be intensified.
Along with digital literacy education that must be improved, actions to reduce the spread of hoaxes continue to be intensified. Head of Subdirectorate II of Cyber Crime Act of the National Police\'s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim), Sr. Comr. Rickynaldo Chairul, said that the National Police also sought to prioritize efforts to provide understanding to the public before the action. The National Police cyber team continues to patrol social media and instant messaging applications.
"We always give understanding to hoax spreaders. Law enforcement will be carried out after the hoax spreaders continue to carry out their activities and produce inaccurate information, for example relating to the government or certain individuals," said Rickynaldo. (AGE/SAN)