“Social Media and the 2019 Indonesian elections: Hoax at the Centre Stage”

“Concerns over online falsehoods (popularly called “hoax”) received outsized attention throughout Indonesia’s 2019 elections. Events such as the 212 Defend Islam Rally, past election experiences of intense political mudslinging and the 2016 U.S. presidential election have informed the nation’s perspective about hoax, seeing it as a term that imply division and could potentially tear apart the young democracy. Social media, especially encrypted platforms like WhatsApp, was used to spread hoaxes during the 2019 elections. The combination of the ability to be anonymous online, the rise of horizontal trust and the inability to critically evaluate online information meant that hoax campaigns gained traction during the election campaigning period. As terms like “buzzers” and “cyber troops/armies” were thrown about, it was clear that a climate of distrust had been established. While assessing the impact of hoaxes during the 2019 elections is challenging, overall level of trust in electoral institutions have been affected, serving as a backdrop to the worst national election-related violence to take place in Indonesia since 1999. Going forward, neither regulation of digital architecture nor cultivation of digital literacy alone is sufficient. Instead, a combination of different measures from diverse stakeholders in the society may offer a more practical solution towards resolving the challenges of hoax.”