Ministry of Communication and Information Finds 1,854 Hoax Issues Related To COVID-19 On Social Media

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JAKARTA - The Ministry of Communication and Information managed to collect 1,854 hoax issues related to COVID-19 scattered on social media.

The data was collected until August 15 yesterday by the AIS Team of the Directorate of Control of the Directorate General of Informatics Applications.

According to the Minister of Communication and Information Johnny G Plate, the issue was spread in 4,442 content uploads on social media. Johnny detailed the total number of hoax content related to the pandemic that was most widely found on the Facebook platform, which was 3,769.

"Of that number, 3,681 have been taken down, and 88 content is being followed up", said Johnny in the online event Reflecting on National Independence and Press Freedom, recently.

Johnny, including the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, has also asked Instagram to take down the content.

"We have submitted 35 hoax issues for a takedown process and all of them have been processed and followed up", said Johnny.

Meanwhile, on Twitter 567 hoax issues have also been asked to take down, 555 have been followed up and 12 are in the process. As for YouTube, 49 hoax issues have been raised.

"48 of them have been taken down and there is still one content that still needs to be processed further. Meanwhile, in Tiktok, the Ministry of Communication and Information has submitted two hoax distributions and both have been taken down", Johnny explained.

Then, regarding the handling of the spread of hoax content regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, Johnny stated that his party had identified 293 findings in 1,987 uploads and 42 hoax issues regarding PPKM level 4 in 640 posts on social media.

“Out of 1,987, 1,813 content on Facebook has been taken down. There are 11 on Instagram, 105 on Twitter, 41 on YouTube, and 17 on TikTok. The identification is a joint work between the Ministry of Communications and Informatics with the media, civil society organizations, and academia, to handle the infodemic", said Johnny.

Not only that, but Johnny also asked that the press have an important task in disseminating information about the COVID-19 pandemic in the community. Not only in disseminating the latest information regarding the handling of the pandemic, but he also hopes that the press can become a reference for the public in clarifying hoaxes and disinformation that is spread in the digital space.

"People in the press can be a reference for clarification of disinformation and hoaxes circulating related to the infodemic in the midst of rapid technological advances," said Johnny.

The invitation was not without consideration, Johnny stated that the current level of public trust in television as a source of information is in the position of the third trusted source after social media and online news portals. He also cited the results of a survey of public perceptions of media coverage of COVID-19 information based on research conducted by Media Nusantara University from May to June 2021.

"Based on this research, trust in print and electronic media is maintained. For this reason, all reporters, journalists, editors, and parties behind the scenes both have an important role to play in maintaining the quality of the information conveyed, as well as reviving the spirit of press freedom by mitigating the occurrence of information disorder or information disorder, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic", said Johnny.