Authors:
Muhammad Edy Susilo
;
Subhan Afifi
and
Senja Yustitia
Affiliation:
Department of Communication Science, Universitas Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Indonesia
Keyword(s):
Digital Literacy, Hoax, Social Media, Civil Society.
Abstract:
Social media users in Indonesia are increasing rapidly. This condition will have a bad impact if they have
a low level of digital literacy. Digital literacy in this study is taken from Livingstone concept, that is how
audiences have an access to the information, how they analyze and evaluate the information, and also how they have a skill to produce the message. The research question is, how is the condition of digital literacy in Indonesia. The purpose of the research is to find out the policies and roles of the Indonesian government in realizing digital literacy. This research was conducted using qualitative research methods. Data collected by
in-depth interview technique. The informants in this study came from the government of Indonesia, especially from The Ministry of Communication and Information and The Public Relations of Indonesian National Police,
social media specialists, political influencers, and social media researchers. The study was conducted ahead of the 2019 Ind
onesia General Elections, from April 2018 to March 2019. Data is processed by classifying or categorizing it based on several themes that are in accordance with the focus of the research. The results showed that social media users in Indonesia have inadequate digital literacy capabilities and therefore they are easily targeted by hoaxes, including political hoaxes. A few months before the 2019 elections, political hoaxes
spread rapidly. The hoax category indicates that social media users are in the opposite position between the
pros and cons of the government. The results showed that compared to the government, civil society had more efforts to realize digital literacy. Meanwhile, the government tends to use a curative approach, by blocking hoax sites or hoax account. The government also processes many hoaxes producers and spreaders in to court
and sent them in to jail.
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