ANTARA CEO: War on Disinformation Must Be Taken Seriously

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Benny Siga Butarbutar, President Director of the National News Agency (LKBN) ANTARA, has stated that the war against disinformation is no longer an ordinary matter but must be addressed seriously through collaboration among government media.

According to him, the current era of information technology development has created an unstable situation. He therefore urged the issuance of a presidential regulation (perpres) to support government media in fighting disinformation and hoaxes.

“In today’s era, the dissemination of hoaxes requires anti-hoax efforts as well as cooperation not only among government media, but also other media and foreign news agencies,” Benny said after a financial report meeting with Commission VII of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Thursday.

Through a presidential regulation, he said, efforts to combat disinformation would gain legal certainty. As a result, the struggle to maintain the democracy index, media civilisation, and the dissemination of information for the public interest could improve.

Benny said the meeting also agreed that pressure on the media remains significant, so government-owned broadcasting institutions must be far more creative with their existing budgets.

Regarding the financial report, he said ANTARA recorded increased revenue with positive profit.

The 2025 financial performance, he said, showed fairly good growth compared to 2024, with operating revenue reaching Rp500.47 billion, up from the previous year’s Rp453.93 billion.

He also said ANTARA continues to contribute to state revenue, paying Rp69.64 billion in taxes in 2025 in the form of Value Added Tax (VAT), Income Tax (PPh), regional taxes, and other levies.

“VAT itself reached Rp43.29 billion, which is the largest component, while Income Tax reached Rp25.75 billion, including Income Tax articles 21, 23, 20, and 26,” Benny said.