Anita Wahid Reacts to Minister's Statement, Asks Govt to Not Monopolize Truth
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15 October 2020 16:53 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Anti-hoax and digital literacy activist, Anita Wahid, responded to Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) Minister Johnny G. Plate’s statement in Mata Najwa talk show on the protest of Job Creation Law on Wednesday, October 14. Anita argued that the government should not monopolize the truth.
In the interview, Johnny said that if the government claims something as a hoax then it is a hoax.
Anita opined the minister’s statement would harm democracy. “This could result in silencing narratives that are different from the government,” said the daughter of Indonesia’s fourth president the late Gus Dur, on Thursday, October 15, 2020.
She asserted that fact-checking is about right and wrong, not agreeing or disagreeing which are opinions. According to Anita, fact-checking should be authorized as wide as possible to independent fact-checkers and journalists.
Should the government be willing to participate in fact-checking, she added, they must adhere to the principles. This means, the government must be able to explain and provide references to why information has categorized a hoax or false news, which part of the information is a hoax, and what is the basis for verification.
Anita Wahid went on to say that the government could not say that information is a hoax by simply stating 'the government acknowledges it as a hoax, so it is a hoax'. "The basis for verification must be clear and must be disclosed,” she underlined.
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