Nurul Arifin Warns of the Threat of Digital Colonization, Hoaks to Deepfake in the Era of AI

Jakarta - Member of Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Nurul Arifin, reminded the public to be aware of the impact of the development of digital technology which increasingly affects the way of thinking, behavior, and social life of the community.

The message was conveyed by Nurul when he was a resource person in a Digital Literacy Webinar entitled Strengthening the Pancasila Ideology which was held by the Directorate General of Public Communication and Media of the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Kemkomdigi), Thursday, June 18.

According to Nurul, technological advances, social media, and artificial intelligence (AI) do provide many benefits for people's lives. On the other hand, these developments also present new challenges that can threaten social cohesion if they are not handled wisely.

"We are facing a new style of colonization, namely colonization through AI and digital technology. When we lose our wallet we may still be fine, but when we lose our mobile phone containing various digital platforms, we become very confused," said Nurul.

According to him, the power of social media algorithms today is able to shape the pattern of public information consumption. Unwittingly, users can be trapped in an echo chamber that only strengthens the views that have been previously believed.

"The algorithm records what we click and read, then continues to present similar information. As a result, we are trapped in the same information and do not develop because we only receive views that are in line with ourselves," he said.

Nurul also highlighted the prevalence of the spread of hoaxes and disinformation which was considered a serious threat to national unity. According to him, hoaxes do not exist by chance, but are often designed to stir emotions, exacerbate differences, build hatred, and lower public confidence in state institutions.

For example, he alluded to the firm steps taken by Singapore in combating the spread of false information. According to Nurul, the country has regulations that provide severe sanctions for perpetrators of hoax dissemination because they are considered to be able to endanger national stability and resilience.

"In Singapore, the spread of hoaxes is regulated by law. The punishment can range from one to five years in prison with very high fines. This shows that hoaxes are seen as a serious threat that can undermine national unity," he said.

Nurul reminded that the public needs to be more careful in looking at every information circulating in the digital space. According to him, behind the various viral content there is often a certain interest, both political and economic, so the public must understand the purpose and source of information before believing it.

This member of the Indonesian House of Representatives from West Java District 1 gave an example of various forms of disinformation that are now widely circulating, ranging from provocative videos, artificial intelligence-based video engineering (deepfake), video fragments without context, to chain messages on WhatsApp that have no clear source.

According to Nurul, such content can make it difficult for the public to distinguish between facts and opinions. The impact is not only creating public confusion, but also triggering increasingly sharp social polarization and lowering trust in democratic institutions.

In his presentation, Nurul also revealed that the trend of spreading hoaxes in West Java is still relatively high. Based on the data displayed in the webinar, there were 346 cases of hoaxes throughout 2026 to May. Facebook is still the main channel for spreading hoaxes, followed by WhatsApp, TikTok, and YouTube.

The head of the Media and Public Opinion Gathering (MPO) of the Golkar Party considers that young people have a very strategic position in the digital era. According to Nurul, today's young generation is not only a user of technology, but also has a responsibility as a guardian of a healthy digital space as well as a guardian of national unity.

"The younger generation is not only a user of technology, but also a guardian of the integrity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia in the midst of the rapid flow of digital information," he said.

He emphasized that technological advances should be used to strengthen the quality of Indonesian human resources, not to make humans lose control over how to think and make decisions.

"Technology is just a tool. It is the human being who must control technology, not the other way around," said Nurul.

Through strong digital literacy, Nurul hopes that the community, especially the younger generation, will be able to utilize technological developments in a productive, critical, and responsible manner so that digital progress can become a force to strengthen the nation in the midst of global competition.