JK's video about Poso was cut, JMSI: Don't be a slave to algorithms

JAKARTA - The Chairman of the Indonesian Cyber Media Network (JMSI) Teguh Santosa considers the cutting of Jusuf Kalla's statement on the Poso conflict to be a serious alarm for the Indonesian public space. In the era of algorithms, said Teguh, speed often beats depth. Sensation is also easier to win than substance.

Teguh highlighted a 11-second video of JK's statement in the reconciliation forum. In the full version, JK explained that the Poso conflict was not born from one cause. There are political, economic, inequality, provocation, and long social wounds. JK also emphasized that the conflict was not solely religious.

However, according to Teguh, certain parts were cut. The cut was juxtaposed with an old riot picture. The narrative that was built also changed: JK seemed to accuse certain religious people as the cause of the Poso riots.

"This is misleading and dangerous," Teguh said in a written statement received in Jakarta, Sunday, April 26.

He called this practice malinformation. The facts are taken in part, then used to build a lie that seems complete for traffic and mobilizing emotions.

Teguh associates this phenomenon with the thinking of Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian communications expert, that the medium shapes the message. For Teguh, in the current era, algorithms even determine which messages are seen, trusted, and disseminated by the public.

He also quoted Harry Frankfurt, an American philosopher and Professor Emeritus of Princeton University, who distinguished between liars and liars in his essay On Bullshit. The liar still knows the truth. The liar doesn't care. He just pursues the effects.

According to Teguh, the logic of the algorithm gives birth to many "digital gossips". Content is produced not for accuracy, but to provoke reactions.

He called this condition "slave to the algorithm". The public reacted quickly, without checking. In sensitive issues such as Poso, this pattern risks reigniting old tensions.

Teguh then referred to Jürgen Habermas, a recently deceased German philosopher, who said that the public space is ideally a place for citizens to discuss rationally for the common good. However, what is happening now, the space is filled with filter bubbles and echo chambers. People only hear what they want to hear.

As a result, people are increasingly difficult to meet in the middle. Discussions are no longer to understand each other, but to justify their respective camps.

He also reminded mainstream media not to be dragged along. Traffic pressure cannot be used as an excuse to cut context or make headlines that trap.

Teguh quoted Bill Kovach, a senior journalist in the United States, and Tom Rosenstiel, a journalist and media researcher in the United States, in The Elements of Journalism. Both of them emphasized that the first obligation of journalism is on the truth, not on the algorithm.

Therefore, JMSI emphasizes that cyber media must adhere to the Code of Ethics for Journalists and Cyber Media Guidelines.

"There is no tolerance for media that deliberately cuts context for dramatisation. That is not journalism. That is propaganda," said Teguh.

According to Teguh, the press can lose quickly. However, the press must not lose right. If the media follows the anger for traffic, it will be more difficult for the public to find reliable information. Especially in sensitive issues such as Poso, the wrong context can have long-term consequences.