Bawaslu Beefs Up Hoax Monitoring Patrol ahead of 2019 Election

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) said that it intensified coordination with several institutions in handling hoax or false information ahead of the 2019 general elections on April 17. The institutions are the General Election Commission (KPU), Press Council, and the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo).

“The trend of hoax increases, but we have yet known the number,” said Bawaslu coordinator of dispute resolution division, Rahmat Bagja, in the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) office in Jakarta, on Monday, March 25.

Up to February 2019, Bawaslu received a total of 1,500 reports from the ministry regarding hoax news.

Read also: Bawaslu: Mosques, Churches Must be Free of Political Campaigns

Kominfo recorded 53 hoaxes in October 2018, 63 hoaxes in November, and 75 hoaxes in December. In 2019, there were 175 and 353 hoaxes in January and February respectively.

"Don't spread hoax information carelessly. Check whether the information is true or false [before spreading it]," said the Kominfo expert staffer Herry Abdul Aziz.

There are several restrictions in using social media for the election campaign; questioning Pancasila (Indonesia’s Ideology), the 1945 Constitution, and the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. People are also barred from carrying out activities that endanger the integrity of Indonesia, insult someone, religion, ethnicity, race, class, candidate and/or other election participants, or incite and complain against individuals or the community.

According to Bawaslu, violators will be subject to Article 521 of Law No. 7/2017 concerning Elections. Election organizers, participants, and/or campaign teams who intentionally violate the policy will be sentenced to a maximum of 2 years imprisonment and a fine of Rp24 million.

REZKI ALVIONITASARI