ANTARA aims to enhance quality to combat disinformation threats in 2027

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian National News Agency (LKBN ANTARA) is striving to improve the quality of its broadcasting and news reporting within its 2027 Government Budget Work Plan (RKAP) to combat the increasing spread of misinformation and disinformation.

Benny Siga Butarbutar, President Director of LKBN ANTARA, stated that disinformation and misinformation represent global threats or risks projected to persist over the next two years. Therefore, he noted, such significant threats must be responded to effectively.

“What we are working towards for 2027 is an effort to enhance the quality of public broadcasting so that it becomes more sought after and serves as the primary reference for the public, including how ANTARA counters ongoing disinformation or hoaxes,” Benny said during an RKAP meeting with Commission VII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Officially, he conveyed that ANTARA will propose a Public Service Obligation (PSO) budget of Rp311.5 billion for 2027 and aims to produce 184,490 news items, including 5,000 pieces of social media content, to be distributed across 38 provinces.

He explained that the public’s right to obtain information is a universal principle regulated under the 1945 Constitution. Consequently, he argued, the protection, advancement, enforcement, and fulfilment of human rights are the responsibility of the state.

“We will begin with how we can address the public’s right to know, and subsequently, how ANTARA plays its role in fulfilling that right to information,” Benny added.

Furthermore, he stated that ANTARA will expand its distribution to areas that are not yet fully served by expanding into five new provinces, including Papua.

“This is to ensure we serve all existing provinces while simultaneously safeguarding the information space in border regions and 3T areas (frontier, outermost, and least developed),” he said.