UNAIR NEWS – In the era of massive information and communication technology development, the are also massive fake news.聽The impact of technological development allows everyone to spread information, anytime and anywhere.聽But for a specific interest, a piece of fake information or commonly called hoax appear.聽So, how to avoid fake content, and how to recognize it?
To answer the question, 东京热 held a talk show titled “Hoax VS Precise Journalism”, at the Airlangga Convention Center, Campus C UNAIR.聽The talk show invited two speakers or experts in their field.聽There was Budiman Tanuredjo as Chief Editor of Kompas, and Suko Widodo, Head of UNAIR Information and Public Relations Center.
The viral hoax content was caused by the majority of people who want to be first.聽As Budiman said, this tendency triggers the spread of hoax content because it is not verified first.
“People often want to be the first to聽share聽and first to retweet.聽Because they want to be deemed resourceful聽without looking at the facts whether the contents true or not, ” said Budiman.
Responding to the hoax that is widely spread in the community, one of the principles held by Kompas Daily is not to raise the issue that is viral in social media.聽Because, according to Budiman, issues developing in social media can be deliberately created without being supported with actual facts.
Meanwhile, to avoid news containing hoax, Kompas uses precise journalism method.聽To cover the election of Jakarta, for example, there are nearly 1000 people involved.聽470 of them were stationed in six administrative districts / cities to conduct research.
“The journalists do not only interview and communicate with the sources.聽But they also conduct research in the field, survey, and it is financed by the R & D (research and development) of Kompas, “said the alumnus of the Nuclear Reactor Technology Department.
So, why Kompas Daily bother so much effort and cost for it all?聽Budiman replied, “The goal is to verify the information so it is close to the truth for the public,” he said.
First, Budiman continued, Kompas Daily wants to serve the reader with correct information and it does an聽early warning system. The result was significant.聽Budiman said that, 1.5 months before the tsunami in Aceh happened, Kompas Daily had issued a prediction of tsunami and it happened 1.5 months later, there was a tsunami in Aceh that killed thousands of people.
How to detect authenticity of聽 an image?
There are memes or images spread in the public with controversial content which bring discord. Budiman said that we should check the authenticity of the images. Google image made it possible for us to check whether such image is authentic or fake.
If it is authentic, we should check again where the photo was taken, when, and in what context.聽Because, the images often uploaded for specific purpose and it disregards the real facts.
“Do not believe information in social media entirely.聽Because in social media, the finger moves, not the brain, “said Budiman.
Meanwhile, Suko Widodo revealed some facts.聽One of them, mobile phones distribution in Indonesia has reached 120 percent more than the existing population.聽It means one person is likely to have two or even more smart phones for himself.
This fact proves that the phones have become the basic needs of today’s society, along with a variety of applications that exist in the smart phone, one of them is social media.聽In this era, continued Suko, mainstream media including Kompas Daily is still used as a reference in analyzing news.
“Mainstream media is still referred because it has responsibility,” he said.
Students as academics who have knowledge above the average ordinary people, must have quality reading material.聽They do not only read but they also choose what they read.聽“Precise journalism is the answer,” he said.
To all the participants, he ordered not to be easy to deliver anything that is not well understood.
“Know what you are saying.聽Do not聽share聽what you don鈥檛 know.聽And not everything you know can聽be shared, “he concluded.
Author: Binti Q. Masruroh
