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Deadly 'infodemic' looms large over Indonesia’s fraught pandemic response
Indonesians are now paying the price for littering social media and instant messaging platforms with rumors, misinformation and hoaxes, as the phenomenon has started to claim real lives.
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Fake news, hoaxes and misinformation are difficult to deal with, but there are ways to spot and fight them. (Shutterstock/Panchenko Vladimir)
W
hile the government still struggles to contain the alarming surge of COVID-19 cases and correct its poor pandemic response, it has also allowed an exceedingly dangerous “infodemic” to grow largely unabated.
Indonesians are now paying the price for littering social media and instant messaging platforms with rumors, misinformation and hoaxes, as the phenomenon has started to claim real lives.
"After a few days of fighting, Papa lost the fight against COVID-19. What caused Papa to lose? Aside from his comorbidities, it was the hoaxes spreading around,” tweeted Helmi Indra, 34, last week.
His statement sparked a wide debate on Twitter that captured the nation’s attention, encapsulating in a thread the dangers of ignoring an infodemic.
Helmi’s father, Nuryaman, 60, passed away on July 15, eight days after he started showing symptoms of having contracted the coronavirus.
He was insistent about not getting tested and refused to be admitted to hospital for treatment because he believed the COVID-19 pandemic was a lie.
Helmi recounted how his father had refused to get vaccinated out of fear that the vaccines included traces of pork, the consumption of which is considered haram (forbidden) in Islam, the majority belief in Indonesia.
