BPIP Says Indonesians Should be Cautious of Internet-based Religious Content

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Secretary to the Head of the Pancasila Ideology Development Agency (BPIP) Achmad Uzair Fauzan urged Indonesian citizens, especially those from the younger generation, to be cautious while navigating religious content on the internet.

This is since not all content available on the Internet is true, and some contain elements of radicalism.

"We used to go to sermon in order to gain religious education, but now us, students, look for them on social media or websites," he noted at a webinar on YouTube on Saturday.

"There are many progressive religious figures, but there are many whose teachings are dubious. Thus, we should be careful," he emphasized.

According to the National Counter-Terrorism Agency's (BNPT's) record, some nine thousand websites contain radical content and some 54.87 percent of the younger generation look for religious references through the internet.

"A research also says that only 10 percent of the content on the internet was reliable, while the other 90 percent are hoaxes, and their validity had been unverifiable," Fauzan pointed out.

Fauzan noted that while technological advancements had provided an extraordinary opportunity to access a variety of information, technology users, who did not look for accurate sources, will gain the wrong information.

Hence, this should become a warning for Indonesians, especially those of the younger generation, to raise their awareness of certain content, especially religious information, on the internet, he affirmed.

"People writing for a website, blog, or social media platforms do not necessarily do so based on accurate sources," he noted.

Fauzan emphasized that in order to address this issue, one of the most important aspects that Indonesians should bear in mind is to improve their capability in utilizing communication media.

Indonesians should be more critical and have the capability to choose correct, accurate, latest, and complete information.

Read: Indonesia Continues Providing Free Internet for Students

ANTARA