The rise of hoaxes that spread in society not only misleads public opinion, but also threatens the important foundations of national economic development, including strategic sectors such as maritime.
This is the common thread that appears in the media discussion of the Economic Journalists Club at Tazawa Resto, Senayan, Jakarta, Friday, June 13. One of the newest hoaxes that went viral on social media is the issue of the JKW Mahakam ship and Dewi Iriana's barge which is said to belong to former President Joko Widodo and his wife, and is claimed to be transporting nickel from Raja Ampat. This narrative has been proven untrue and was officially declared a hoax by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs through the Komdigi.go.id page.
"In this case, because the issue is purely a hoax, I need to speak up. Hoaxes are a big problem for Indonesia and can seriously interfere with investment. In fact, the maritime sector that is the mainstay of the Prabowo government as one of the main motorbikes for economic growth can be disrupted because of hoaxes like this," said a discussion speaker, Algooth Putranto, Coordinator of Anti Hoax Task Force for Central PWI as well as Lecturer for Communication at Dian Nusantara University, in a media discussion at Tazawa Resto, Senayan, Jakarta.
Algooth further explained that the hoaxes of the JKW Mahakam and Dewi Iriana ships are a real example of how disinformation can trigger turmoil in the public. In fact, the ship with these names is proven to belong to private companies that have nothing to do with the former president Joko Widodo and his wife as mistakenly mentioned by the hoax.
"This was also verified by the well-known business media Bisnis.com who traced that the ship had nothing to do with ownership with former President Joko Widodo," said Algooth.
Verification through trusted ship tracking sites such as Vesselfinder.com carried out by trusted media, Kompas.com, also shows that the ship is not located in Raja Ampat, but operates in Kalimantan.
"So the issue of the Mahakam JKW ship is a very multi-layered hoax. So we should appreciate it when the Ministry of Communication and Digital stipulates officially through the official website Komdigi.go.id that the issue of the JKW Mahakam Ship and Dewi Iriana transporting nickel from Raja Ampat and also belonging to the former president is a hoax," said Algooth.
Joko Widodo himself has denied the hoax.
"There are a lot of writings (Jokowi) in the truck, it's normal. But don't twist it into mine," he said when met in Solo, as quoted from the news of the mass media.
Another speaker, Faisal Rachman, Editor-in-Chief of Periscope.id, stated that hoaxes could really hinder investment realization.
"There has been a client from China who postponed investment because he met hoaxes in the industry and locations he was interested in here during online research. This means that this hoax has a very real impact on business decisions," he said.
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Meanwhile, Windarto, Chairman of KJEJ who was the third speaker emphasized that the media must continue to carry out the verification function.
"There is a media that only follows the flow by clicking, without any intention of verifying. This is like milling about in cloudy water. But there are also things that should be appreciated such as Kompas and Bisnis Indonesia, which present clarifications in the hoax of the Mahakam-Dewi Iriana JKW ship through their search for annual reports, official websites, and ship tracking data," he said.
Through this discussion, the speakers agreed that hoaxes are common enemies. Its countermeasures require cross-sectoral synergy: academics, media, regulators, and society. Protection against the maritime sector as the spearhead of economic growth must begin by clearing public spaces from hoaxes.
"The clarification steps taken by the shipowning company and the official statement from Komdigi and President Jokowi are the right actions. Now it remains only the public who must be smarter in filtering information," concluded Algooth.
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