KPU And Bawaslu Asked To Optimize Socialization Of Campaign Rules At Social Media To Prevent Hate Speech

JAKARTA - Executive Director of The Indonesian Institute (TII) Adinda Tenriangke Muchtar suggested that the KPU and Bawaslu need to optimize socialization regarding the rules of political campaigns on social media to election participants so that they can be obeyed properly.

This needs to be done regarding concerns that false information and hate speech will still overshadow the 2024 election campaign, even though the KPU has issued the latest regulations regarding campaigns through the General Election Commission Regulation (PKPU) Number 15 of 2023 concerning General Election Campaigns.

"It seems that these regulations have not been able to reduce the circulation of false information and hate speech on social media ahead of the 2024 election campaign," Adinda said in a public discussion held by TII and Paramadina Graduate School of Diplomacy (PGSD) Paramadinadilansir University ANTARA, Monday, October 2.

Adinda asked the General Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) to strengthen the enforcement of administrative sanctions for violations of political campaigns on social media.

In addition, Bawaslu needs to regularly announce cases of campaign violations on social media and issue warnings to participants who violate campaign regulations.

Adinda also said that the younger generation, especially students, together with civil society groups and other stakeholders, were to increase digital literacy and electoralism in society.

"Improving digital literacy and electoralization in the community is very important so that we can oversee the implementation of the 2024 election campaign stage and report if there is a campaign violation," he said.

In the discussion, the Managing Director of the Paramadina Public Policy Institute, Paramadina University, Ahmad Khoirul Umam, said that the threat of circulating religious identity politics may still occur in the 2024 election campaign.

This is due to the increasing projection of the number of Muslim middle class people, namely 62.8 percent and the Muslim millennial generation of 34 percent who have better economic capacity and adequate education level, but are still looking for self-identity, saturated with modernism, and "haus" religious values.

"In addition, in an open digital communication space, they are easy targets of ideological propaganda, thought, and SARA sentiment," he said.

He hopes that the public will need to increase literacy and oversee the running of the 2024 election campaign so that hate speech and the spread of hoaxes do not occur, as happened in previous elections.

He asked the government to protect cyberspace and social media from the development of right-conserved narratives, ultra-nationalist left, intolerance, hoaxes, fake news and hate speech.

Meanwhile, researcher and Program Manager of the Universita Paramadina Center for Religious and Democracy (PUSAD) Study, Husni Mubarok, said that a strategy was needed to ward off hate incitement ahead of the 2024 election campaign.

According to him, the first thing that needs to be done is to identify hate speech and twists and twists.

"Hate speech is an insult to the identity of a group to oppress. Distribution of hatred is an insult that was deliberately created and used as a political strategy that exploits group identities in order to mobilize supporters and suppress opponents," he said.

In addition, Husni said that in the context of campaigns on social media, hate speech and twists are often wrapped in negative narratives aimed at influencing social media users.

Therefore, Husni emphasized that it is very important for all parties to flood campaigns on social media with positive narratives.