Dare To Spread Hoaxes About COVID-19, Get Ready To Be Fined IDR 1 Billion

Minister of Communication and Information Johnny G Plate (Tachta Citra Elfira / VOI)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) recorded 147 hoax news about the corona virus or COVID-19 which is now spreading in the community. The Minister of Communication and Information, Johnny G Plate, appealed to the public and netizens not to spread false information related to corona.

"Until yesterday and today 147 hoaxes were found. Don't do hoaxes. Let us be the shield in Indonesia in the field of informatics. The method is not to produce hoaxes, spread hoaxes. It will not benefit, it will all harm," said Plate when met at the Grab Ventures event Velocity, Plaza Kuningan, Central Jakarta, Tuesday 3 March.

Plate also emphasized that the perpetrators of spreading hoaxes would be followed up through criminal sanctions and fines. Kominfo does not hesitate to punish anyone who dares to spread hoaxes related to COVID-19 in Indonesia and globally.

"The law regulates sanctions for spreading hoaxes, there are criminal sanctions, material sanctions (fines). The penalty is six years, the material is nearly one billion. We Kominfo have coordinated with the Indonesian police to take law enforcement actions," said Plate.

Furthermore, Plate also reminded the Indonesian people that COVID-19 is not an epidemic problem in the country alone, but this outbreak has become a global problem.

The spread of COVID-19 is also not only in Wuhan, China but has spread to a number of other countries such as Iran, South Korea and Italy.

"Our task now is together with the government, the community to prevent the discovery of two patients yesterday, stop the spread, limit it so that we are safe. By following the official instructions from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization at the world level," concluded Plate.

As has been reported, the findings of hoax news and information related to COVID-19 have also spread in a number of cities, such as Jakarta, Depok, Yogyakarta, Semarang, Surabaya to Banda Aceh. The type of information disseminated includes infected patients and places prone to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Kominfo also urges netizens to participate in monitoring the spread of information about the Corona virus. If you get information that is suspected of being hoax, disinformation or fake news, you can report it to aduankonten.id, WhatsApp message on 0811 922 4545 or email [email protected].