Social Media Hoax Outbreak

Hoax messages are circulating on social media at an alarming rate. We live in a digital age where social media has become highly accessible, and it is a very powerful platform. According to DataReportal, there are approximately 160 million social media users in Indonesia as of January 2020. These people are susceptible to hoaxes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic where the spread of false information is crucial. (Btari)

A survey of hoaxes outbreak in Indonesia was conducted by the Indonesian Telematics Society in 2017. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Path) are 92.40% of the most commonly used platforms for spreading hoaxes, according to the survey results. It was found that not only people from the middle-lower class carried out the spread of hoaxes, but the spread of hoaxes was actually carried out by educated people, anyone who is publicly considered to have a high social standing, and in some cases treated by law enforcers, a certain religious leader or figure who actually carries out the spread of hoaxes. (Vania)

WhatsApp has been the platform that is frequently used for hoaxes to spread. Based on the monitoring of the Internet Content Control of the Directorate General of Applications and Information Technology, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics said that the most massive hoax spread was through the WhatsApp social media platform. Most of the hoaxes are preceded by fake accounts on social media. Then the perpetrator captures the fake news and shares it through the WhatsApp platform. It is hard to find who is the perpetrator because the fake account that they used was deleted to erase the digital trail of negative content. (Anaya)

The rise of threads or tweets promoting hoaxes on Twitter is rapidly becoming. This is due to a large number of Twitter “anonymity” accounts. Anonymity itself is where a person describes a situation where the identity of the perpetrator is unknown. The key concept here is that a person is unidentifiable or untraceable. Often, when we scroll the timeline on Twitter, a thread appears that cannot be verified for aspects of the story’s credibility. Although there are not as many hoax cases that have spread on the WhatsApp platform, Twitter hoaxes still make readers feel uncomfortable. The good thing is on Twitter; if users start to realize that the thread contains hoaxes and reports the thread maker’s account, Twitter will quickly suspend the hoax spreader’s account. (Aurell)

The big question: how do we handle hoaxes and what should we do to stop them from spreading? The first step is to remain calm. Before forwarding this false information, fact-check and look for a credible source. Don’t believe everything you see. It’s our responsibility to do our own research and help spread awareness about this issue. But most of all, the most important thing is do not panic. (Anaya, Aurell, Btari, Vania)

These hoaxes, although spread on different platforms, are equally dangerous. In many cases, hoaxes exacerbate the real problem and distract us from the more important issue. Therefore, we need to be wise social media users and avoid being triggered by false information. (Btari)

References:

Hatta, Muhammad. (February, 12). (The Spread of Hoaxes and Its Legal Consequences). (International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation). 24 (3). 2&4

Kemp, Simon. (2020, February 18). “Digital 2020: Indonesia”. Retrieved from datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-indonesia.

Nurhanisah, Yuli. (2019). “Modus Hoax di Whatsapp”. Retrieved from indonesiabaik.id/motion_grafis/modus-hoax-di-whatsapp.