Jakarta Government Urges Content Creators to Combat Hoaxes Through Fact-Checking
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government, through its Communication, Informatics and Statistics Office (Diskominfotik), has invited content creators and the younger generation to become the front line in fighting hoaxes by making a habit of fact-checking before spreading information in the digital sphere.
“Hoaxes cannot be predicted; this is a threat and a shared challenge. When creating an idea, first check whether the facts are correct — do not let it end up spreading hoaxes,” said Syali Gestanon, Head of the Public Information Division at the DKI Jakarta Communication, Informatics and Statistics Office, at the ANTARA Heritage Centre (AHC) in Central Jakarta on Thursday.
The move is considered important in facing the rampant spread of hoaxes that are increasingly difficult to identify due to developments in artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Syali said that advances in AI technology do bring many benefits to society. However, the technology can also be misused to create fake images, videos and audio that closely resemble real conditions, accelerating the spread of misleading information.
“Wrong content spreads quickly because the scale of users is enormous, without verification, and AI technology makes it easy to produce fake images, videos and audio — so Indonesia is in a state of hoax emergency,” said Syali.
Syali explained that throughout 2024, a total of 1,923 hoax pieces of content were identified. Subsequently, 1,674 hoax issues were recorded between October 2024 and October 2025.
“So the misuse of deepfake technology — fake content in the form of video, audio or images created using artificial intelligence — has increased by 550 per cent,” said Syali.
Syali also warned that spreading false information can have legal consequences under the provisions of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law (UU ITE).
Breaches of these rules may attract sanctions in the form of fines of up to hundreds of millions of rupiah, as well as prison sentences, in accordance with applicable regulations.
“There is the ITE Law, with fines of Rp400-600 million or one to one-and-a-half years in prison. A mischievous thumb, no verification — that is dangerous, so be careful. Be creative but proceed with checking sources and dates, distinguish facts from opinion, and respect the privacy and consent of the people featured,” Syali explained.
Syali expressed hope that the public would refrain from creating content using language that provokes, stirs emotions, or embarrasses or harms others.
“Every post has the potential to reach many people, and creators hold the position of information conveyors, so pay attention to the quality of your content and the public sphere,” said Syali.