media monitoring end of project report indonesia
TRANSCRIPT
MediaMonitoringEndofProjectReport–IndonesiaSiteA. ContextofCOVID-19inIndonesia
The firstpositive casesofCovid-19 in Indonesiawere identifiedon2March2020,aftera
dance instructor and her mother tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Both were
infected by a Japanese national. By 9 April 2020, the pandemic had spread to all 34
provinces in the country and by 10 August 2020, the number of cases has surpassed
125.000, withmore than 5.723 deaths and still an average of 1.000 to 2.000 new cases
everyday1.
On 23 April 2020, the Indonesian government announced large-scale social restrictions
(Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar/PSBB) and banned all means of transportation, both
domestic and international. Soon after, various official information platforms were
launched, such as thewebsite (www.Covid19.go.id), the hotline (119 ext. 9), and tracing
mobileapplications(pedulilindungi).
Thedeploymentofaninformationcenter,includingahotline,isconsideredapositivestep
by theGovernment,however, it is questionableas to theextent it is able to support the
communityiftheinformationprovidedisunclear,delayed,andmisleading.Fromtheinitial
PSBBuntilthe"NewNormal"phase,announcedon1June2020,theregulations,guidance,
andstatementspublishedabruptlychangedjustafewdaysafterissuance.
When the people were still adapting to working from home, organizing all community
servicesandgatheringsonline,andmaintainingminimumphysicalcontact,thegovernment
suddenlyannouncedthe"NewNormal"phaseofencouragingthepublictoreturntotheir
regular activities in order to boost the economy,while still practicing health protocols to
preventthespreadofCovid-19(yetnotasstrictinadherenceasthepreviousPSBB).
Furthermore,inanyphase,mostoftheactivitiesofschoolorwork,includedsearchingfor
andsharingofinformation,allofwhicharecarriedoutonline.Unfortunately,eventhough
the internet provides adequate information and education, on the other hand, it also
facilitatesthespreadingofmisinformationandhoaxes.
1 www.covid19.go.id
On 27 April 2020, theMinistry of Communication and Information Technology (Kominfo)
announcedtherewerealmost600hoaxesrelatedtotheCovid-19pandemic.Althoughthe
Indonesian government frequently identified the hoax creators and misinformation
spreadersthroughLawNo.11of2008onElectronicInformationandTransaction(amended
byLawNo.19of2016),theefforttocatchtheculpritanddemandpublicclarificationonthe
hoaxhasbeeninadequate,anduntilthesuspecthasbeencontactedand/orarrested,the
misinformation is potentially continuing to be spread virally resulting in material and
immaterialdamage,duetothenatureoftheinformationthatisbeingsoeasilydistributed2.
A. Government’s response to the misleading news
InIndonesia,thegovernmentsystemisdecentralized,withtheregionalgovernments,both
at the provincial or district level, having autonomy in decision-making. The Indonesian
government system is alsodemocratic andmultilayered, andas theexecutive leader, the
president seeks approval for any regulation change to the parliament members as the
legislative.Thissystemhasoftenresultedindelays,andinconsistencyinthestatementsor
messages delivered across the country; raising confusion amongst the public regarding
which statements to trustand follow,orworse,misleading thepublic in theirbeliefsand
actionsinamannerwhichcouldworsenthesituationofthisCovid-19pandemic.
The Centre of Political Studies of the Indonesia Science Institute (LIPI) criticized the
governmentsysteminmonitoringtheinformationspreadtothepeople.LIPIstatedthatthe
government has been downplaying the threat of this pandemic. It showed the many
statementsfrompublicofficialswhohadstatedthatCovid-19isnotmorelethalthantheflu
virus, and the lack of concern from the leader by promoting Indonesian tourism through
engaging a social media influencer and spending 72 billion rupiahs to raise interest in
tourism.3
Anothercrucialissueininformationmanagementisthelackofdatatransparencyandactive
misinformation about the nature of this pandemic. The government has been trying to
portraythattheCovid-19issueisanormalsituationwhichislargelymanageable.Thekeyto
2 https://youth4ig.asia/blog/indonesia-response-covid-19-p2/ 3 http://www.politik.lipi.go.id/kolom/kolom-2/politik-nasional/1365-data-transparency-and-misinformation-of-covid-19-in-indonesia
maintainingthisperceptionisdeliberateeffortsbythegovernmenttofiltertheinformation
allowed to be presented to the public. Until recently, the Ministry of Health had only
disclosed the number of new cases, those hospitalized, those who had recovered, and
deceasedpatients.
Ontheotherside,thegovernmentthroughtheMinistryofCommunicationandInformation
has actively responded to tackle any misinformation which is spread throughout the
community.Thesetypesofinformationwillnotstaylonginthesocialmediaoranyonline
platforms. The misinformation such as taking herbal medicine for Covid-19 treatment,
conspiracyissues,etc.havebeentakendownfromthemediawithindays.
Unfortunately, there are many Indonesian officials and public figures who provide
information regarding thecurrent situationandmightmisleadcitizensandcause themto
make incorrect decisions. For example, in early February, a Harvard epidemiologist
reminded the Indonesian government about the possibility that Indonesia already had
undetected positive cases of Covid-19. In response, the Indonesia Minister of Health
dismissed the suggestion as an insult to the Indonesians’ ability to detect the virus. His
statementandresponserepresentsthestancetakenbyIndonesianpublicofficialsregarding
anyinformationrelatedtoCovid-19.
B. ProjectSummary
OneoftheimpactsoftheCovid-19pandemicisanexcessiveamountofinformationspread
publicly, particularly in online media, without giving an opportunity for the community
themselves to absorb and screen whether they are receiving accurate or misleading
information. In this study,misleading information in onlinemedia refers to any deceitful
content, such as disinformation (i.e. fake news), rumours, manipulated content, or
authenticmaterial used in thewrong context. Under any form, however,misinformation
undeniablyposesathreat,asthiscontentcanmaliciouslymanipulatepeople’sbeliefsand
theirdecisions,carryingthusasocialimpactwithtremendouspotentialtocausereal-world
impacts.
Theaimof thisMediaMonitoringprojectwas tomonitoranddocumentmisleadingnews
and/orinformationinregardstoCovid-19inIndonesia,specificallystatementscomingfrom
thegovernment.Findingswillbeusedasabaselinetoadvocatemedialiteracyskillsandto
designmorelocal-basedinformationdisseminationforms.Itmayalsolaterbepresentedto
government representatives and a national expert’s panel to seek follow-up studies and
recommendations foractiontobetaken in futurepandemics.Long-termactionoutcomes
canalsobeusedtodevelopcommunityguidelinesonanti-misinformationwhichcouldbe
circulatedregionallyasapreventiveactionforsimilarsituationsandtoimprovethecapacity
oflocalonlinejournalistswhereneeded.
In Indonesia, the monitoring has focused on three of the most popular news portals in
Indonesia; detik.com, kompas.com and liputan6.com, with one of the three linked social
mediaposts (Twitter/Facebook, ifavailable) tothenewsarticles.Thismonitoringhasonly
analysed the government statements related to Covid-19 published within the period of
January 1, 2020 to May 31, 2020, and whether they are suspected of being misleading
information. The monitoring team involved a group of scientists and representative of
communitiesinreviewingandgatheringinformationandinsights.
C. Methods
ThemediamonitoringwasconductedbyutilizingGooglesearch,withthekeywords:“(news
platform name)., Covid-19” and “(news platform name)., corona”. The selected search
category was then changed from “All” to “News”, and the date range tool activated to
narrowthesearchresultstoonlywithintheperiodofJanuary1,2020toMay31,2020.
ThecollecteddatawascompiledintoamediamonitoringtemplateinExcelformat,withthe
detailsofthenewsplatformname,dateofpublication,thetitleofthearticle,asummaryof
thecontent,and the link to thearticle.Eachof thenewsarticleswas thencategorized in
order to identify whether it contained a statement coming from the Indonesian
government; if yes, which government actor it is. The newswhich contained statements
from the Indonesian government was then categorized into either one of these content
categories: (1) Prevention, (2) Treatment, (3)Disease epidemiology (includingprevalence,
new incidence, risk factors), (4) Governmental management (including regulations,
governance,etc);and(5)Relateddiscriminationandxenophobia.
The statementswere then categorizedas towhether theywerepotentiallymisleading to
the public or not. If yes, the number of engagements (share, repost, or comment) was
recorded,togetarepresentationoftheinformationdistribution.Inthisprocess,misleading
information isdefinedasanyshared informationprovidedby thegovernmentwhichmay
causeanincorrectorpotentiallyharmfulactionorresponsebythepublic.Itincludes:
i. Bias information: a particular tendency to express feelings or opinions,
especially ones that are preconceived or unreasoned, and/or to interpret
informationthatconfirmsone’spre-existingbeliefsorhypotheses.
ii. Disinformation: false information which is publicly announced in the newsmedia with the sharer’s intention to mislead and deceive the public forpoliticalorsocialgains.
iii. Misinformation: false or inaccurate information created as a result of anhonestmistakeandnegligencebythesharer.
For any statements which were related to technical or medical information which the
monitoringteamwasunsureastowhether itwasmisleadingornot,theteamsoughtthe
professional advice of EOCRU senior researchers (epidemiologists, physicians, and
virologists)toverifytheaccuracyoftheparticularstatements.
Thenextstepwastocross-checkthe informationwiththepublic.Duetothe limitationof
time for the project, we were only able to organize two online focus group discussions
(FGD),on6thAugust2020withagroupofyoungpeople(agedbetween17–25yearsold)
and11thAugust2020withagroupofadultswithvariousbackgrounds.Detailedinformation
aboutparticipants’profiles frombothgroupscanbe seen inAnnexA.Participantsof this
FGD had been invited to the discussion through a WhatsApp message which had been
shared through various networks. If someone agreed to participate, he/shewould join a
WhatsAppgrouptoreceivefurtherinformationaboutthefocusgroupdiscussion.Byjoining
the group, participants gave permission to themonitoring team to record the discussion
processandquotetheiropinions.
Thediscussionmainlyfocusedonhowthepublicrespondstogovernmentstatementsinthe
mass media, whether these statements influence or affect the individual actions and
decisions,andfinally,wesoughtrecommendationsonhowtospreadpositiveandaccurate
informationtothepubliceffectively.
Thefollowingquestionswerediscussedwiththeparticipants:
1. Howoftendoyouaccessanonlinenewsplatform?Comparedtothebeginning
of PSBB, has the intensity decreased, increased (more often) or is there no
difference?
2. Whatkindsofnewsorinformationattractyourattentionthemost?
3. How do the information and news you attain from onlinemedia impact your
decision-makinginyourbehavioursoractions?
4. Inyouropinion, isthereanygovernmentstatement,eithercentral,regional,or
legislative,thatisnotaccurate?Howdoyourespondtoit?
5. Doyouhaveanyadvice,suggestions,orrecommendationstofixorimprovethe
quality of the information delivered by the central, regional, or legislative
membersofthegovernment?
D. KeyFindingsandAnalysis
Thedatacollectionfromthethreenewsplatformsresultedinatotalof1,115newsarticles
using the aforementioned keywords; precisely 400 from liputan6.com, 366 from
kompas.com, and 349 from detik.com. From the 1,115 news articles, 675were found to
includestatementsfromtheIndonesiangovernment,whiletheother440didnot.
The675newsarticleswhichincludedstatementsfromtheIndonesiangovernmentvariedin
termsof thespecificgovernmentactorsstating them,andwere identifiedas follows:408
fromcentralofficials,150fromprovinceofficials,94fromdistrict/municipalitiesofficials,5
fromPeople’sRepresentativeCouncils (DewanPerwakilanRakyat/DPR), 3 fromProvincial
People’sRepresentativeCouncils (DewanPerwakilanRakyatDaerah),and15fromothers,
suchasthepoliceandtheelectioncouncil.
The 675 news articles which contained Indonesian government statements were also
separatedbasedon their content,with the following findings on each category: 18 news
articles under the category of “prevention”, 15 under “treatment”, 264 under “disease
epidemiology”, 376 under “governmental management”, and 2 under “related
discriminationandxenophobia”. From those675newsarticles,640of themare found to
notbemisleading.Thereare35news itemswhichweresuspectedofbeingmisleading:2
suspected as “bias information”, 31 as “disinformation”, and 2 as “misinformation” (with
thedefinitionofeachmisleadingcategoryasdefinedinthe“Method”section).
Therewas a total of 35 news articles that contained Indonesian government statements
which are suspected to be misleading. Most of the statements submitted by the
government canbe classified into2broad categories, namely treatment andgovernment
policiesrelatedtotheresponsetoCovid-19.Thegovernmentconsideredittobetooearly
to introduce several alternativeCovid-19 treatments thathavenot yetpassed the clinical
trialstage.Anotherstatementisaboutinter-islandhumanmobilizationpolicies,suchasthe
policyofreopeningflightsandallowingpeopletotravelwhentheholidaysarrive,whichare
risk opportunities in themselves. So, even though the number of potentially misleading
statementsisquitesmallcomparedtothenumberofstatementsconveyedingeneral,these
statementsstillhaveanimpactonsocietyintakingactionsanddecisions.
Allthespecificmediastorieshavebeencompiledwitheachofthemainideasofthecontent
summarizedinthetablebelow,alongwiththetimeframeandnewsplatformofeachnews
article.
The number of engagements cited on the table (Appendix E) are based on each news
platform. The measurable engagements for Detik.com and Kompas.com on their news
platformsarethenumberofcomments,whileforLiputan6.comit isthenumberofarticle
shares.Inaddition,newsarticlesfromLiputan6.comwerealsosearchediftheywereposted
on itsofficialTwitteraccount,and if yes,howmanynumberof comments, retweets,and
likesoneachtweetwasrecorded.
Table2:Exampleofmediastories.ForfulltableseeseeAppendixE
No. Date,Platform
ContentSummary ContentAccuracy
Number ofEngagements
1. 26/01/20,Kompas.com
While the number of Coronavirus casesrose in China, the Governor of WestSumatra, IrwanPrayitno,welcomed150tourists from China. This caused acontroversy.
Misleading:Disinformation
11comments
There are several aspects that affect the number of engagements for each news item
published.Mainly,itwentviralbecauseoftheattention-grabbingtitleofthearticle.Others
hitthenumberbecausetheissuewascontroversial,andraisedpeople'scuriosity.
Infact,trackingengagementbyjustonearticleisachallenge.Notonlythespreadtosocial
media butmostly through communicationplatforms, such asWhatsApp.Oneof our FGD
participantsfromtheadultgroup,FA01,sharedherexperience,"...whenthegovernment
firstannouncedthePSBB,therewasnofollow-upannouncementfromthelocalgovernment
whetheritalsoappliesinBandaAcehornot.However,asprevention,myfamilydecidedto
practice the health protocols and started looking for information on themassmedia and
officialwebsites,butmostoftheinformationjustfocusonpublishingthenumberofcasesin
Indonesia.IreceivedmorevarietyofinformationthroughWhatsAppgroups,bothfamilyand
professional-relatedgroups”.
ThemassiveamountofinformationsentthroughtheWhatsAppgroupalsomadesomeFGD
participants,frombothgroups,feeloverwhelmedandanxiousbecausetheycouldnolonger
filterwhichinformationwasaccurateorjustahoax.
When the monitoring team asked the comparison of intensity in accessing Covid-19
information between the initial PSBB and today, the youth stated that their intensity of
readingonlinenewsorjustnewsingeneralhaddecreasedafterthePSBB.Thiswasbecause
mostmediamostlypublishedaboutCovid-19relatednewswithnosignificantandpositive
progress;thenumberofcaseshadonlybeenincreasing,andsomenewsplatformswerenot
accurate. The youth stated that theyonly chose to read thenews thatmight affect their
personal lives inawayoranother, for instance informationaboutnewcases inparticular
office complexes which concerned them when they must work from the office, or the
governmentpolicyregardingevenandoddcarplatesinJakartawhichmightforcethemto
takepublictransportationandincreasetheriskofgettinginfected.
Meanwhile, theadultparticipants stated that the intensityof themaccessing information
through the news portal had always been low, even though they kept reading the
informationcirculatingaroundthechatgroupsandsocialmediacircles.Yettheyadmitted
to having attempted to decrease it, as one participant FA02 stated that “toomuch news
makesithardtofilter,anditcankillyou”.Thisissupportedbyherstoryabouthermother-
in-law whose health had worsened after constantly watching Covid-19 related news on
television,yetafteraself-therapynottobeexposedtoanynewsplatformnoranyCovid-19
relatedinformation,herhealthimproved.
Itissafetoconcludethattheadultsdonotintentionallyandactivelyseekinformationfrom
newsplatformsorothermedia,buttheyjustconsumewhateveriseasilyaccessibletothem
inchatgroupsorsocialmedia;whichunfortunatelycomeswithahigherriskofexposureto
misleadingandlesscredibleinformation.
Interestingly,oneof thediscussionparticipants from theadult group FA03, also raiseda
concernrelatedtothemassiveCovid-19researcharticlespublishedbyIndonesiascientific
mediaor journal -"Currently, therearemanyscientificmediathatopenaccess for freeto
the public. Positively, the community can get more scientific and accurate information.
However,themassivenessoftheresearchpublicationringsmyalarmwhetherthemethod
anditsresultareaccurateenoughsinceithasbeenconducted,reviewed,andpublishedina
relatively short time. I believe the accuracy of the results still needs further investigation.
With the limited ability of the community to understand scientific articles, this can be a
misleadthemtoo".
This is also confirmed by the youth, who also realize that their parents or other adults
around themdonot bother to clarify the credibility of the information they receive, and
thusfeelaresponsibilitytoprovidethecorrect informationforthem. If there isanynews
thattheyouthfeellikereadingbesidestheonesthatdirectlyaffecttheirpersonallives,itis
thenews thatcouldhelp themto tackle thehoaxesandmisinformationbyeducating the
factstotheadultsandlesscriticalorlesseducatedpeoplearoundthem.
Whendiscussingtheimpactofmisleadinggovernmentstatementsontheirdecision-making
andbehaviours,theyouthparticipantsadmittedtobeingunshakenintheircommitmentto
keep following health protocols and not go out of the house as much as possible. An
exception, for those who are working, sometimes their decisions are influenced by the
regulations in their company. For example, the regulations for returning to work in the
officewillcertainlyinfluencetheirdecisiontoreturntousingpublictransportation.
However,thisisnotthecasewithallyouthinIndonesia.Theyadmitthattherearefriends
of the same age who are although educated, still seem careless and do not take the
pandemic seriously. They shared experiences of both young people and adults in their
communitiesrespondingtothe“newnormal”thatshouldonlyapplytofundamentalthings
likebusinessesforthegoodoftheeconomy,butmanyhavebeguntohangoutincafesin
biggroupswithoutwearingmasks,travelintercityorinterprovince,orevenvisitrecreation
spots. The FGD youth participants’ assumption is that after having to stay at home for
monthsduringPSBB,peoplebecomehavebecomemore impulsivewhen theyheard that
thegovernmenthadallowedparticularthingstogobacktonormaloperation,andthatthey
haveforgottentopracticehealthprotocolsandtherisksthatcomewithit.
This is also confirmed by the FGD adult participants, who felt that most people in their
community underestimated the pandemic, or worse, some even think that Covid-19 is a
merehoax,fakenews,orevenpropaganda.Theobservationbytheadultparticipantsisno
differentthanthatoftheyouth,wheretheyseeeventhebasichealthprotocolssuchasnot
meetingpeopleinbiggroupsorcontinuewearingmasksarenotbeingfollowed.
However,there isadifferencebetweentheyouthandtheadultsparticipants inhowthey
respond to misleading statements from the government. For instance, the Ministry of
Health’s statement about how herbalmedicines couldward off Covid-19. name , one of
participantfromtheadultgroup,said"Eventhoughthereisnoscientificevidenceaboutthe
efficacyofherbalmedicine to treatCovid-19, I still consume itasprevention." Incontrast,
the youths tend not to be impacted by these suspectedmisleading statements and only
follow the basic health protocols, which are clearly not misleading, in order to prevent
themselvesfrombeinginfected.
Anotherexperiencesharedbynameregardingthegovernmentstatementaboutreturning
to your hometown during Eid Fitr holiday: "I visit home carewheremy father is treated
frequently,andtoreachthatlocation,Iusethetollroad.SincePSBB,therestareaonthetoll
road is relatively empty, you can only see a few cars, but right after the government
announced thatpeoplewereallowed to return to theirhometownsandcelebrateEid, the
restareabecamecrowdedagain."
In conclusion, there are many aspects that influence someone to make inappropriate
decisionsandactionsbasedontheinformationtheyreceive.Lackofknowledgeandmedia
literacyatthecommunitylevelisnottheonlyreasonbehindthiscondition.Themedia,both
conventionalanddigital,playsanimportantroleinensuringthatthepeopleaccessaccurate
informationandcanunderstandthemessageofthatinformationwell.Ontheotherhand,
thegovernment,atany level,asasourceof informationmustalsobecareful inproviding
statementsorinformationtothepublic.Becauseeventhoughpeopleareabletofilterthe
informationandmaybe smarter in choosingmoreaccuratemedia sources, thereare still
largercommunitiesofpeoplewhodon'thaveliteracyskillsortheknowledgeandcapacity
toscreen/verifytheinformationtheyreceive.
E. PublicEngagement,ImpactsandBenefits
To date this project has had impact on the immediate community involved with our
engagement activities, but limited impacts to the wider public yet. We conducted data
collection(mediatracingandrecording)andgatheringmoreinformationandexperiencein
community level during thegivenproject time frame. Theparticipants andexpert groups
definitelyprovidedvaluableinformationandrecommendationswhichwillbeusefulforthe
team in designing further interventions. It is interesting to find that the focus group
discussion participants (both the young people and adults) have more or less the same
feedback and advise for the government, journalists, and partners for improved levels of
communicationduringthispandemic.Belowaresomekeyrecommendationsprovidedfrom
thisproject:
1. Firstly, the government should identify the different cultural and socioeconomic
groups in this diverse country, and then communicate separately with a tailored
healthpromotionapproachaccordingtoeachtargetsegment.Theyouthssuggested
that the government should collaborate with public figures, including cultural and
religion leaders, or social media influencers and use other forms of information
distribution that could be more attention-grabbing, such as videos or tiktok,
considering that most Indonesians do not have that much interest in reading long
news articles. However, the government should be careful in selecting the public
figurestheydecidetoworkwith,ortheycouldgiveevenmoremisleadinginformation
andmessagestothepublic.Theadultsaddedtothisbysayingthattheyouthsindeed
haveagreat influenceon familydecision-makingandbehaviour,and thatwhen the
government succeeds in making the youth understand the right things to do in a
pandemic, they could positively influence their families and communities to do the
rightthing.
2. The government suggested avoiding using unfamiliar jargon, and if possible, to use
local language in each separate region in the 34 provinces in Indonesia, so that it
wouldresonatemorewiththelocalsandbemoreunderstandableforthemtoadopt
therequiredbehavioursaswell.
3. Utilizing the health facilitators or cadres in district or village levels is preferred to
supportthespreadofpositivemessagesandinformation,insteadofdevelopingnew
informationplatformswhichareunrecognizedbythecommunity.
4. The information sources andmessagedeliverers should alsobeeducated to ensure
thattheyareconsistentwitheachother,andcarefulwhenmakingpublicstatements.
The government has a department responsible for evaluating public statements
before they are released to the public, and this should be utilised to ensure that
misleadingstatementsareavoidable.ManyIndonesiansdonothavetheresourcesto
research to confirm the validity of statements, and thus take things literally.
Misleading statements therefore mislead their decisions and behaviours, thus
increasingtheirsusceptibilitytoacquiringorspreadingthevirus.
5. Empowering and educating the public to have more media literacy; including the
ability to understand keymessageswhen reading specific news or information and
being aware of its impact; the ability to select suitable, appropriate and accessible
media; utilising critical thinking; and the ability to distinguish emotional from
reasonedreactions.Aboveallthegovernmentofficialsshouldberolemodelsforthe
community,particularlywhentheypersuadethepublictofollowhealthprotocolsor
behaveinaparticularmannerforthegoodofthewholecommunity.
6. TopreventthespreadofCovid-19,thegovernmentshouldalsoshowtheirpersistence
and consistency in their actions, regulations, and policies. Everything has to be
consistent as this is theway that the public trust toward the government could be
restored. Once the public trust has been restored and the government is finally
deemedascrediblebythepublic,thentheyshouldtackleallhoaxesandinformation
circulatingthroughthepublic.ThiswasalsosupportedbyaFGDadultparticipantwho
said that the energy and time of researchers andmedical workers could be better
usedforbeneficialresearch(suchasfindingacureandtreatingpatients), insteadof
havingtopour it intoclarifyingmisinformationthattheyarecontinuallybeingasked
todo.
7. Mostof theFGDparticipantsagreed that they felt that themediahadbeenputting
moreimportanceontheamountandspeedofpublishednewsarticles,insteadofthe
content accuracy of thenews itself. The FGDparticipants suggested that given that
most Indonesiansarehighlyattractedtoheadlinesandhaveatendencynottoread
the entire article, the journalists should not make the headlines as clickbait or
misleading.Theyshouldindeedmaketheheadlinesenticingorintriguingtomakethe
audiencewant to read and findoutmore about the actual facts, but notmake the
headlines implydifferent information incaseswhere theaudiencedonotbother to
read the restof thenews content. The journalists shouldalsobe trained to rewrite
government statements accurately, without skipping important details and only
writing what is alignedwith the agenda of eachmedia agency, but rather practice
goodjournalismwhichisentirelyforthegoodofthecommunity.
F. Ongoing/FutureEngagementPlan
Astheperiodofthisprojectwaslimitedtomainlymonitoringofthemedianewsitems
being disseminated, and accessing some public opinion, there are a number of other
engagementactivitieswhichwillbedevelopedfurther:
1. Sharing the findings of the media monitoring to date with government
representativesandthewiderpublictogathertheiropinionsandinitiatediscussion
about the issue of accurate information sources and avenues for communication
withthebroadercommunity.
2. Holdinga seriesofpublic seminarsorworkshopsusingappropriateplatformswith
theaimtoincreasemedialiteracyamongtheIndonesianpublic.
3. Wherepossibletocontinuethemediamonitoringprocessforanextendedperiodof
time to access data over a longer and comparable time frame, and enable us to
conductaseriesofdiscussionswithavarietyofcommunityrepresentatives,toget
morecomprehensivedataandinformation.
4. To explore avenues to support the spreading of more positive messages and
information among the communities: by maximize the function of EOCRU official
socialmediaaccounts;andbydevelopingwaysofenhancingthecapacityofhealth
facilitatorsinourresearchsitesacrossIndonesia.
AppendixA:DemographyprofileofFGDparticipants
YouthFGDParticipantsAge Gender Occupation Location22 Female FreshgraduateinCommunications NorthJakarta23 Female MarketLaunchforGlobal Padang,WestSumatra25 Male BusinessStrategyAnalyst CentralJakarta20 Male Communicationsstudent,3rdterm Tangerang,Banten23 Female DigitalMarketingExecutive Tangerang,Banten23 Female Musician Tangerang,Banten
PublicFGDParticipantsAge Gender Occupation Location39 Female Author/Writer Semarang,CentralJava50 Female Privatecompanyemployee Medan,NorthSumatra34 Female Doctor,Lecturer Aceh,NorthSumatra27 Male Privatecompanyemployee Banjarbaru,SouthKalimantan38 Female Privatecompanyemployee Bekasi,WestJava36 Male NGOactivist Medan,NorthSumatra51 Female Lecturer Medan,NorthSumatra42 Female Lecturer NorthSumatra35 Female Physician SouthTangerang,Banten
AppendixB:NewsIncludingIndonesianGovernmentStatements
NewsPlatform
NumberofNews(01/01/20-31/05/20) IncludeIndonesianGovernmentStatements
Liputan6 400Yes 237No 163
Kompas 366Yes 230No 136
Detik 349Yes 208No 141
Total 1115 Include 675
Doesnotinclude 440
61%
39%
INCLUDEINDONESIANGOVT.STATEMENTS(01/01/20-31/05/20)
Include Doesnotinclude
AppendixC:IndonesianGovernmentActorsStatingtheGovernmentStatements
GovernmentActorsStatingtheGovernmentStatementsIndicator Variable TotalCount PerNewsPlatform
1 CentralGovernment 408Liputan6 114Kompas 151Detik 143
2 ProvincialGovernment 150Liputan6 67Kompas 40Detik 43
3 District/MunicipalityGovernment 94
Liputan6 44Kompas 35Detik 15
4 DPR(People’sRepresentativeCouncil) 5
Liputan6 1Kompas 2Detik 2
5 DPRD(ProvincialPeople’sRepresentativeCouncil) 3
Liputan6 1Kompas 0Detik 2
6 Others 15Liputan6 10Kompas 2Detik 3
Total 675
CentralGovt60%
ProvincialGovt22%
RegionalGovt14%
DPR1%DPRD0%Others2%
GOVERNMENTACTORSSTATINGTHESTATEMENTS(01/01/20-31/05/20)
CentralGovt ProvincialGovt RegionalGovt DPR DPRD Others
AppendixD:ContentCategoryoftheIndonesianGovernmentStatements
3%2%
39%
56%
0%
CONTENTCATEGORYOFGOVT.STATEMENTS(01/01/20-31/05/20)
Prevenlon Treatment
Diseaseepidemiology Governmentalmanagement
Relateddiscriminalonandxenophobia
ContentCategoryoftheIndonesianGovernmentStatementsIndicator Variable TotalCount PerNewsPlatform
1 Prevention18
Liputan6 5Kompas 5Detik 8
2 Treatment15
Liputan6 6Kompas 5Detik 4
3 Diseaseepidemiology264
Liputan6 68Kompas 101Detik 95
4 Governmentalmanagement376
Liputan6 158Kompas 118Detik 100
5 Relateddiscriminationandxenophobia2
Liputan6 1Kompas 0Detik 1
Total 675
APPENDIXE:Summaryofallnewsstoriesincludedinanalysis
Date,Platform
ContentSummary ContentAccuracy
Number ofEngagements
1. 26/01/20,Kompas.com
While the number of Coronavirus casesrose in China, the Governor of WestSumatra, IrwanPrayitno,welcomed150tourists from China. This caused acontroversy.
Misleading:Disinformation
11comments
2. 07/02/20,Detik.com
Indonesian He alth Minister, Terawan,predicted that the Covid-19 pandemicwill not last long, the reasonbeing thatin his opinion, the virus will disappearalongwithclimatechange.
Misleading:Misinformation
25comments
3. 11/02/20,Detik.com
IndonesianHealthMinister,Terawan,respondedtotheHarvardresearcherwhostatedthattheCoronavirusshouldhavealreadyenteredIndonesia,bysayingthattheHarvardresearchersarewrong.HeaddedthattheHarvardresearchersareinsultinganddiscreditingIndonesia.
Misleading:Misinformation
58comments
4. 15/02/20,Liputan6.com
Indonesian Health Minister, Terawan,stated that he was certain prayers arewhat have been keeping IndonesianssafefromtheCoronavirusoutbreak.
Misleading:BiasInformation
657 shares (onnewsplatform). 7comments, 14retweets, 41likes (onTwitter).
5. 02/03/20,Detik.com
TheMayorofSurabaya,TriRismaharini,urgedresidentstodrinkherbalmedicinetowardofftheCoronavirus.
Misleading:Disinformation
50comments
6. 03/03/20,Kompas.com
MinisterofForeignAffairs,TitoKarnavian,statedthatIndonesiaisfortunatetobeatropicalcountry,becauseCoronaviruswouldn’tthriveintropicalweathersandthussuggestedthatthepublicsunbatheinthemorningsun.
Misleading:Disinformation
0
7. 03/03/20,Kompas.com
Indonesian Health Minister, Terawanstated that people should not to wearany masks if not sick, or else it wouldjustraisethedemandandthusthepriceofmasks.Healsostatedthattheuseofmasks can decrease the oxygen intakewhenbreathing.
Misleading:Disinformation
6comments
8. 11/03/20,Detik.com
TheGovernorofWestJava,RidwanKamil,announcedaboutquinineinWestJavathatissuggestedtohavethesamecontentaschloroquinewhichhadbeenclaimedasasuccessfulcureforanumberofCoronapatientsinWuhan,China.Hestatedthatwiththeexistenceofthissuggestedingredient,CoronavirusmedicinecouldbeproducedlocallyinIndonesia.
Misleading:Disinformation
56comments
9. 12/03/20,Kompas.com
TheGovernorofWestJava,RidwanKamil,announcedaboutquinineinWestJavathatissuggestedtohavethesamecontentaschloroquinewhichhadbeenclaimedasasuccessfulcureforanumberofCoronapatientsinWuhan,China.Hestatedthatwiththeexistenceofthissuggestedingredient,CoronavirusmedicinecouldbeproducedlocallyinIndonesia.
Misleading:Disinformation
0
10. 13/03/20,Liputan6.com
AchmadYurianto,theIndonesianGovernmentSpokespersonforCoronavirusHandling,onlyrespondedtotheincidentofaCovid-19patientescapingfromisolationbysaying:“It’sonlyoneday,whysayit’sanescape?”
Misleading:Disinformation
23.500 shares(on newsplatform). (Notposted onTwitter).
11. 13/03/20,Kompas.com
Indonesian President Joko Widodoadmittedthatthegovernmenthadbeenkeeping some information undisclosedtothepublic,sothattherewouldbenopanic or restlessness among the public.One of the undisclosed information isthehistoryofCoronaviruspatients.
Misleading:Disinformation
17comments
AppendixF:ContentAccuracyoftheIndonesianGovernmentStatements
ContentAccuracy(oftheGovernmentStatements)Indicator Variable TotalCount PerNewsPlatform
1 Notmisleading640
Liputan6 228Kompas 219Detik 193
2 Misleading:BiasInformation2
Liputan6 1Kompas 0Detik 1
3 Misleading:Disinformation31
Liputan6 8Kompas 10Detik 13
4 Misleading:Misinformation2
Liputan6 0Kompas 1Detik 1
Totalmisleading 675
6%
88%
6%
SUSPECTEDMISLEADINGGOVT.STATEMENTS(01/01/20-31/05/20)
Misleading:BiasInformalon Misleading:Disinformalon Misleading:Misinformalon