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Ending fake news, journalism's nemesis
Journalists at the Ambon meeting should discuss ways to counter and minimize bogus and incendiary journalism. Legitimate Indonesian journalists adhere to Article 4 of the 2006 Journalism Code of Ethics: “The Indonesian journalist refrains from producing false, slanderous, sadistic and obscene news stories.”
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (second right) speaks to journalists about an antigraft operation at the Transportation Ministry on Oct. 11. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
Media leaders gathering in Ambon on Thursday may spend more time talking about fake stories than the fishing business.
The capital of marine resourcerich Maluku is hosting Indonesia’s 2017 National Press Day on Feb. 9. The event is themed “The Press and the People of Maluku Rise from the Sea”.
Promoting this far-flung archipelago in eastern Indonesia with its coral reefs and copious tuna is on the agenda. However, the hot topics on the table are hoaxes, fake information and by extension hate speech.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is expected to speak at the event and address the fake news issue. Jokowi has faced his share of bogus stories and hate speech. It is a worldwide phenomenon linked to new US President Donald Trump and his former election opponent Hillary Clinton, as well as to incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and Jokowi himself.
One piece of fake news that Jokowi has refuted was that 10 million Chinese people are working in Indonesia. His quick quashing of that rumor-driven story was meant to prevent it from undermining the substantial investment from China in his high-profile infrastructure program. The high-speed Jakarta-Bandung railway and coal-fired power plants benefit from Chinese capital.
“Many are voicing that 10 million, 20 million Chinese workers have entered Indonesia. When did the counting take place?” Jokowi asked rhetorically on Dec. 23 at a rally held in Karawang, West Java, to promote work competence. The number of Chinese workers in the country was 23,000, he stated.
Previously, Jokowi had been the target of libelous reporting. In May 2014 a weekly tabloid named Obor Rakyat (People’s Torch) emerged and folded in the heat of the presidential campaign with the intent to degrade and smear presidential candidate Jokowi, then governor of Jakarta.
