T

he Indonesian Hoax Busters (IHB) community, which emerged recently to help prevent misinformation on social media networks, is getting strong as it has gained thousands of followers nationwide.

Still, coordinator of the Bandung people’s declaration against slander and hoaxes, Citra Pertiwi, said the community was in need of support from more social media users following its attempt to bring back the function of social media as a medium to unite and educate the nation.

“At the same time [it is aimed] also at restoring serenity, unity and peace among fellow social media users,” Citra told The Jakarta Post in Bandung, West Java, on Friday.

One of the ways to gain support, Citra said, is by conducting a declaration in Bandung, slated to be held during Car Free Day activities on Jl. Dago, Bandung, on Sunday. Supporters will get together under the banner of the Indonesian Hoax Busters community in Bandung.

The supporters, Citra said, come from different backgrounds, ranging from students, academicians, housewives and employers to private sector and government employees irked by the use of social media to provoke and spread lies.

“If in the past hoaxes were limited to issues on health, products and the strange appearances of creatures, now it has led to slander and provocation. This raises concerns about the disintegration of the nation due to misinformation,” Citra said.

She said that during the declaration, the community would promote a hoax reporting service called Turn Back Hoax that could be accessed through web browser Google Chrome. The mechanism is based on public support or crowd sourcing whereby users can report suspected hoaxes on the internet to be collected in a single database.

The database can be accessed for free through smartphones or computers, which in turn is expected to be able to help internet users differentiate between hoaxes and real information.

Turn Back Hoax also asks users to mutually verify reports. Everyone is welcome to discuss particular content under the mediation of an administrator team comprising volunteers.

In the declaration, which has been signed by Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil, the community has agreed to, among other things, use social media only to share positive, inspiring, developing and empathetic things.

They also agree to actively participate in preventing the use of social media as a medium to disrupt national unity, including the spreading of issues involving ethnicity, religion, race and societal groups.

They also agreed to be careful with information from sources with no clear identity or position and not to easily re-post news on social media before verifying it was true.

Mayor Ridwan has instructed the city administration’s public relations division and the Bandung Communications and Information Agency to maximize the potential of the community, saying that Indonesians easily believed false information or slander conveyed through digital photo products. “This is today’s digital challenge,” Ridwan said.

A supporter of the community, communications lecturer Santi Indra Astuti of the Bandung Islamic University, expressed concern over the increase in false information on social media.

“I’d feel embarrassed if I was not involved [in the community] considering that many of the producers and distributors of the hoaxes are fellow lecturers,” Santi said.