While this could be nothing more than just lip service (looking at you, Zuck), Facebook Indonesia says it is taking extra steps to combat fake news and hoaxes as Indonesia enters the campaign period for this June’s nationwide regional elections, followed by the 2019 presidential election.
During a press conference yesterday, Facebook Indonesia said it had enlisted media outlet Tirto.id as a third-party fact checker, tasked with verifying the authenticity of news stories appearing on the social media platform.
“Health, tourism [stories] — anything can be twisted,” said Tirto founder and CEO Sapto Anggoro at the press conference, as quoted by Antara.
Facebook says that once Tirto flags content as false, they will warn users not to share it while suggesting alternative verified content that they can share instead.
Alice Budisatrijo, head of media partnerships at Facebook Indonesia, says the affiliation with a third-party fact checker is the first of its kind in Asia Pacific. The same strategy has been previously implemented in the US, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Italy. Facebook Indonesia is looking to work with even more fact checkers in the future.
In addition, Facebook is working with numerous government institutions and foundations to promote digital literacy in Indonesia.
Launched in 2016, Tirto has grown to be one of the largest truly independent media companies in Indonesia (at least in the sense that its founder and directors don’t have any clear political affiliations). It has also earned much praise for focusing on in-depth reporting and ensuring the accuracy of its content, as opposed to the publish-first-ask-questions-later method employed by most online news outlets in Indonesia.
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