Coordinating Minister For Political, Legal And Security Affairs Invites A Joint Movement To Overcome Hate Speech In The Digital Space

Minister of Police Mahfud MD/DOK VOI-Nailin In Saroh

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD invites all parties to participate in overcoming the spread of hate speech, negative content, and hoaxes in the digital space.

"That in overcoming this, the government cannot work alone," Mahfud said in a statement quoted by Antara, Saturday, April 2.

Cooperation and support from various parties is needed in handling and managing negative narratives, hoax information, and other violent extremist content in the digital space.

"Therefore, on behalf of the Government of Indonesia, I welcome and appreciate the joint initiatives and efforts that have been made by the Wahid Foundation, Google Indonesia, and UNDP by building the capacity of moderate Islamic scholars," he said.

According to Mahfud, with adequate capacities and abilities, these scholars will produce and spread messages of peace to the people of Indonesia.

Then, he emphasized that the Government would continue to pay special attention to content containing hate speech.

The same goes for content that is misinformation and disinformation, as well as negative narratives without being based on data and facts, which are rife in the digital space.

According to Mahfud, these contents have led to thoughts and even built a misunderstanding among the public about an issue, which in the end disrupts national unity and national stability.

"The availability of information dissemination channels arising from the development of information technology has revolutionized the way we communicate and the way people obtain news sources," he said.

The digital space, he said, has become a source of information for the public, which in fact often ignores public ethics, and often becomes a forum for the widespread dissemination of hoax information and various negative content.

Mahfud believes that the work of 10 moderate Islamic communities which was launched on March 24, 2022, will become information that can fight and deal with content containing violent extremism in the digital space.

He told the Wahid Foundation, Google Indonesia, and UNDP that the Government will continue to support this joint effort, and in the future it will not stop only by producing positive works, but also thinking about reaching a wider reach.

"I also hope that collaborations between the government and civil society like this will continue to be strengthened in maintaining a diverse, tolerant and peaceful digital space," said the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs.

Meanwhile, Director of the Wahid Foundation Yenny Wahid also expressed concern over the condition of the public space which is currently filled with things that are intolerant.

In fact, according to him, the capital of the Indonesian nation as a heterogeneous society is very large to be able to practice tolerance, because since birth, it has been surrounded by diversity.

“Our country is so diverse, but unfortunately we still see that there are still many expressions of hatred. Sometimes based on ethnicity and religious issues, they are still scattered in public spaces, both physically, and now they are more prominent because of social media," he said.