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Pre-election flame wars likely to burn: experts
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A picture of a hacker committing a cyber attack through the internet. (Shutterstock/File)
I
nternet flame wars are likely to be scorching in the lead-up to the simultaneous regional elections next year, especially in Jakarta, with candidates’ supporters logging on to the net to prop up their candidate and slam his or her rivals, an expert has said.
Multimedia expert from the Institute for Press and Development Studies Ignatius Haryanto said more netizens would use social media platforms and the comment sections of online news portals to comment on the election. The trend started in 2012 when then Surakarta mayor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama ran as a pair in the Jakarta gubernatorial elections, Ignatius told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
"Candidates will no longer wage “billboard warfare” campaigns but will use social media platforms instead. This medium, unfortunately, can also be used by candidates to attack each other," Ignatius said.
These skirmishes would also flourish in the comments sections of news sites where people could make offensive comments while hiding behind pseudonyms, he added.
To deal with this, Ignatius suggested that editorial teams of news portals actively filter and curate readers' comments, block any trolls and delete blasphemous statements made about any candidates.
Meanwhile, University of Indonesia media observer Ade Armando said the online participation of netizens during elections was normal, as it was part of the freedom of expression. What all parties must bear in mind, he added, was that any attacks based on race, religion and ethnicity were not permissible.
Still, he noticed that several online media outlets did not filter harsh comments due to fears of limiting freedom of expression.
"I really think that any comments that are outrageous need to be deleted," Ade added. (rin)
