According to data from the annual Reporters Without Borders [1] report on the ranking of press freedom in the world, for the Southeast Asia region, Indonesia ranked top, namely 124th, followed by the Philippines in 127th position. The next ranking is occupied by Myanmar which was previously ruled by the military but is now led by the former opposition party, ranked 131. Next is Cambodia, which is controlled by Prime Minister Hun Sen, ranked 132. Thailand is ranked 142, followed by Malaysia in the order 144th, Singapore ranked 151th, and Brunei was 156th. The two Southeast Asian countries in the lowest position are Laos (170) and Vietnam (175) classified as media black spots.
Freedom of the press in Southeast Asia is an interesting spotlight. Because, some countries in Southeast Asia have had experiences led by authoritarian governments where freedom of the press is one of the elements of rare democracy. For example in the era of the New Order government in Indonesia, the press could not move freely to carry out its function as a watch dog. At that time, the government through the Ministry of Information often carried out the eviction of newspapers or magazines that were critical of government policies. The press under President Soeharto’s administration tried to eliminate party organs and critical newspapers, defuse the press making noise, and ensure that workers and the press management were absolutely responsible for the government. [2] At this time the conditions began to be different, the press was more free to criticize. However, online news sites that are not necessarily credible also contribute to filling public information spaces in Indonesia.
Cases of repression against the press also occurred in Myanmar. In 2016, female journalist Myanmar Times newspaper Fiona MacGregor was dismissed after reporting a case of mass rape by security forces in the Rakhine region. The news came under fire from the President’s Office and Myanmar’s Ministry of Information. Rakhine is an area where millions of Rohingya Muslims are under pressure from the government and Myanmar Buddhist groups. Myanmar’s military has locked the Rakhine area since October 9, 2016. [3] Since the news, journalists have been forbidden to go and cover in areas that have the predicate. ‘troubling’. [4]
Although Southeast Asian countries still occupy the position of red and black points in the press freedom ranking according to Reporters Without Borders, the flow of information in the digital era is something that cannot be completely dammed. The presence of social media is slowly shifting the way media users access information. The use of the internet, especially social media raises a culture of ‘click-share’. Whatever information is read by the user, it can be easily shared with various other digital platforms. Information filtering in the digital era is becoming increasingly loose. Especially with the emergence of sites that contain information that is not credible or fake (hoax).
In certain cases hoaxes are related to cyberhate or the spread of hatred carried out by someone or a group of people to attack someone or another group of people through cyber space, one of which is social media. Cyberhate is like two blades of freedom of speech in the internet era. The condition that causes the emergence of cyberhate is the similarity of interests between internet users on an issue. In addition, information dissemination in cyberspace is unlimited and fast.
Hoax news from a site is often shared by readers to social media, such as Facebook or Twitter. The technological aspects in this context, specifically social media platforms, are important because social media has several characteristics that support the radicalization process. [5] Empirical research shows that the level of mobilization on Facebook is higher than using electronic mail. [6] Facebook is an effective platform for spreading ideology, where political action and the capabilities of an organization are more easily implemented through small groups on social media. Social media provides space to form a collective identity, share the same opinion and solidarity with certain perspectives on the world. [7]
At the end of 2016, the political climate in DKI Jakarta, Indonesia had heated up. Basuki Tjahja Purnama (Ahok) Governor of DKI Jakarta at that time was considered by some groups to commit blasphemy of Islam after Buni Yani uploaded a video containing pieces of Ahok’s speech during a work visit in Kepulauan Seribu, DKI Jakarta, Indonesia. The case continued until the legal sphere until finally Ahok was found guilty by a judge and received a prison sentence of two years in 2017.
As long as the legal process against the case took place, the mass media in Indonesia was so intense in reporting. However, the problem is not only the mass media that contribute to reporting the case, but also other mass media whose credibility is questionable. Ahok as the central figure in the case became the media spotlight. The inherent background also does not escape the attention of the public, such as race and religion. The sentiment towards people of Chinese descent and the mention of infidels for certain religious people revolved on social media. In addition, false news (hoaxes) revolved around the blasphemy case on social media. [8]
The phenomenon of hoax and cyberhate has also occurred in Singapore. In 2016, married couples named Yang Kaiheng and Ai Takagi, owners of the popular site The Real Singapore (TRS), were criminalized by Singapore authorities, because they published hoax articles that cornered foreign nationals in Singapore and potentially triggered xenophobia.
In Indonesia the hoaxes and cyberhate are overcome by enacting the Electronic Information and Transaction Law (ITE). For example, in article 28 paragraph 1, it is stated that every person who intentionally and / or without the right to spread false and misleading news, the threat can be subject to a maximum of six years’ penalty and a maximum fine of Rp.1 billion. Actors who spread hatred through cyber space can be processed legally by using article 28 paragraph 2 which reads that every person intentionally and without the right to disseminate information aimed at generating hatred or hostility of certain individuals and / or groups based on ethnicity, religion, race, and intergroup (SARA). Malaysia emphasizes the spread of hoaxes through short message applications, such as WhatsApp. The Malaysian government calls on WhatsApp group administrators and the like to be responsible for the credibility of the information disseminated in their groups. This then triggered a discourse that administrators of social media groups that let the spread of hoaxes get punished. Rules for warding off hoaxes have also been planned by Singapore. Singapore’s Home Affairs Minister said that Singapore plans to issue rules to ward off hoaxes in 2018.
Social media opens up a vast space for users to disseminate information, create content, and express opinions. Social media is also slowly shifting the way journalism works. At present almost every print mass media has online sites and social media accounts. They continuously share the news on social media. Social media provides an opportunity for the mass media company concerned to get many readers as well as profits through the number of clicks on the news article link. Often the headlines of online mass media are made sensational in order to invite readers to click and share. It is also used by hoax sites. Sensational and provocative titles become one of the key hoax news sites to get readers as well as profits.
On the other hand, the freedom of the press is now faced with a post-truth. The Oxford Dictionary defines post-truth as follows: public opinion than appeals to emotion to emotion and personal belief. There is a lot of information and as readers we can find information anywhere. The problem is how we can find credible and truly objective information. In the case of reporting on mass rape in Myanmar which was discussed in the initial paragraph, we can see that the news was criticized by the Myanmar government. However, does that mean that what MacGregor reports is a hoax? The definition of hoax becomes loose. Because, the truth of something is no longer permanent. When even this is not uncommon for mass media to be ridden by political interests. Information can be biased. In the end, everything goes back to the reader as the party who must filter the information that he reads, watches, and hears for himself.
REFERENCES:
[1] Reporters Without Borders, 2017, 2017 World Press Freedom Index.
[2] Hill, David T., 2011, Pers di Masa Orde Baru, Jakarta: Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia.
[3] MacGregor, Fiona, 2016, Dozens of Rapes Reported in Northern Rakhine State, Myanmar Times <http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/23326-dozens-of-rapes-reported-in-northern-rakhine-state.html>.
[4] Murdoch, Lindsay, 2016, Media Freedom on Back Foot in Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Sydney Morning Herald, <http://www.smh.com.au/world/free-media-on-back-foot-in-myanmar-thailand-malaysia-philippines-20161105-gsiq0q.html>.
[5] Hanzelka, Jan dan Ina Schmidt, 2017, Color Dynamics of Cyber Hate in Social Media: A Comparative Analysis of Anti-Muslim Movements in the Czech Republic and Germany, International Journal of Cyber Criminology (internet), Vol. 11(1), hal.143-160, <http://cybercrimejournal.com>
[6] Hanzelka, Jan dan Ina Schmidt, 2017, Color Dynamics of Cyber Hate in Social Media: A Comparative Analysis of Anti-Muslim Movements in the Czech Republic and Germany, International Journal of Cyber Criminology (internet), Vol. 11(1), hal.143-160, <http://cybercrimejournal.com>
[7] Hanzelka, Jan dan Ina Schmidt, 2017, Color Dynamics of Cyber Hate in Social Media: A Comparative Analysis of Anti-Muslim Movements in the Czech Republic and Germany, International Journal of Cyber Criminology (internet), Vol. 11(1), hal.143-160, <http://cybercrimejournal.com>.
[8] BBC Indonesia, 2016, ‘Hoax’ Seputar Kasus Ahok, FPI, 4 November, BBC Indonesia <http://www.bbc.com/indonesia/trensosial-37843842>.
—
This article was written by Gisela Ayu, student of Culture & Media Studies, Graduate School, UGM, while working as an intern at Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies (CESASS).