Hoaxes Undermine Election’s Quality

· 4 minutes read

JAKARTA, KOMPAS -- The General Elections Commission (KPU) has filed a police report in response to the recent spreading of a hoax on social media stating that there were seven containers filled with millions of marked ballots.

Political elites and public figures have been asked to restrain themselves from causing unnecessary uproar ahead of the 2019 general election by spreading hoaxes. The spread of disinformation related to election organization would only lead to public unrest and the erosion of public trust in the election process and results.

The latest disinformation spread on social media on Wednesday (3/1/2019) and Thursday comprised a voice recording and tweets claiming that seven containers from China had arrived at Tanjung Priok Port’s customs office that contained marked ballots for the upcoming election.

The KPU has reaffirmed that it was nothing but a hoax. The KPU also clarified that ballots would only be printed in mid-January. Currently, six companies have won the auction to print ballots, but the auction process itself in still in an objection period until Jan. 7. All six companies are based in Indonesia. Ballot printing will be strictly monitored by the KPU and the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu).

This was not the first hoax related to the 2019 election. Communications and Information Ministry data in August-December 2018 found 62 hoaxes related to the 2019 election on the internet.

In Blitar, East Java, on Thursday, President Joko Widodo urged everyone to stop spreading misinformation. “We are nearing [the presidential election]. It’s only three months away from now. Everyone must maintain peace. We have to keep things calm in spreading political information so that we will not create public unrest,” he said.

Indonesian Islamic University (UII) professor of state administration law Mahfud MD said that democracy had opened the door to critical thinking and freedom of speech. However, democracy would be ruined if people spread hoaxes and slander in the pretext of championing critical thinking.

“If people are not astute, they may easily believe certain information. Under such circumstance, some people may use the opportunity to cause uproar or slander others for their own political gain,” he explained.

Mahfud urged the political elite not to spread unverified information. Everyone should strive to use positive paths in the political struggle to find the best candidates to lead the nation, including by not spreading hoaxes, which would only create public unrest and undermine the process, quality and results of the election.

Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) professor Azyumardi Azra said that anyone who initiated the spreading of lies could be reported to the police. He said the ballot container hoax should serve as a lesson for the political elite, meaning they should confirm the veracity of all rumors before spreading them.

“If they had information on the seven containers of marked ballots, they should have privately reported it either to the KPU or the police. There is no need to spread it on social media. It was an unwise move,” Azyumardi said.

Police report

An observation by Kompas’ social media team on Jan. 2 and Jan. 3 at 5 p.m. found that the seven containers hoax had gone viral on Twitter. Democratic Party secretary-general Andi Arief was among those who tweeted about it. On his Twitter account @AndiArief_, he wrote, “Please check, I heard there were 7 containers of marked ballots in Tanjung Priok. Please confirm the veracity of this so that there is no misinformation, as this news has spread.” The tweet was later used in several online news articles.

Andi said his tweet did not constitute the spreading of a hoax. He said he merely tweeted about the rumor to ask the KPU and the authorities to check its veracity. “I did not accuse anyone. The rumor had been spreading since the previous afternoon, so I wanted it to be checked to avoid any misinformation. If I am reported to the police for trying to remind the authorities to act promptly, then the country is in a strange state,” Andi said.

KPU and Bawaslu leaders on Wednesday evening went to Tanjung Priok Port’s customs office to confirm the information. “There was nothing to be found,” KPU chair Arief Budiman said.

Customs Directorate General spokesperson Deni Surjantoro reaffirmed that the information about seven containers of marked ballots from China was merely a hoax.

Before any goods enter Indonesian territory, the directorate general first obtains the invoice. Officers will then analyze the invoice, which includes intelligence gathering.

On Thursday, several KPU leaders and Bawaslu members reported the hoax to the National Police criminal investigation division.

Division chief Comr. Gen. Arief Sulistyanto said the investigation was ongoing.

(REK/INA/AGE/MTK/E07/INA/WER)

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