VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - UNESCO Jakarta together with the Coalition for Democratization and Moderation of Indonesia's Digital Space (Damai) held a high-level discussion with the theme "Countering Disinformation and Hate Speech Ahead of the 2024 Elections in Indonesia" in Jakarta on Thursday.

The meeting was attended by the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), the Presidential Staff Office, the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan), the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), representatives of 12 civil society organizations that are members of the Peace Coalition as well as representatives of social media platforms and messaging applications operating in Indonesia, namely Google, Youtube, Twitter, Bydance (Tik Tok), WhatsApp, and META.

This discussion was held as a shared space to take lessons from the 2019 elections, map the challenges of monitoring disinformation in the upcoming elections, and at the same time identify collaborative solutions involving various parties.

This activity is part of the UNESCO Social Media for Peace program with the support of the European Union, as well as commemorating the International Day Against Hate Speech.

In her remarks, Dr. Itje Chodijah, Daily Chairperson of the Indonesian Commission for UNESCO said that the implementation of elections in the digital era has great challenges.

"We need governments, technology companies, and civil society to work together to ensure that election campaigns and public messaging are conducted in a way that limits the circulation of disinformation, and ensures journalists work safely," she said in Jakarta on Thursday afternoon (June 22, 2023).

Stephane Mechati, Deputy Ambassador of the European Union for Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, said that similar challenges to suppress the circulation of dangerous content related to elections also occur in various countries in Europe.

"The circulation of harmful content, especially hate speech and disinformation, is a dangerous threat to democracy and social relations in society. We all have a responsibility and need to unite to fight disinformation, and find the best way so that citizens can freely express their views, and get information from diverse and transparent sources," Stephane said.

This activity is also to introduce the existence of the Peace Coalition representing the voice of civil society as a strategic partner for various parties and a consultation forum for social media platforms and the government.

"Koalisi Damai aims to build transparent relationships and ongoing dialog with platforms and the government to ensure that content moderation practices and policies in Indonesia are based on an understanding of the local context and in line with international human rights standards. Koalisi Damai will conduct data-based research, fight for freedom of expression online, and increase digital literacy and public awareness of this issue," said Wijayanto, Ph.D, Chairman of the Presidium of Koalisi Damai.

Valerie Julliand, UN Resident Coordinator for Indonesia said that the Peace Coalition can mobilize its network and expertise to provide input on concrete methodologies for monitoring online dangerous content, design risk mapping for potential conflict areas, and propose handling emergencies on platforms and election organizers.

The meeting was divided into two sessions. The first session was open to the public and the second session was closed. In the first session, Dr. Novi Kurnia, Head Researcher of Center for Digital Society (CfDS) - Gajah Mada University, representing the Peace Coalition, and Michael Caster (Article 19) presented important findings from research conducted by each institution related to the regulatory framework in Indonesia governing harmful content, the dynamics of social media use, and current content moderation practices in Indonesia.

Both researches received support from UNESCO. The second session was a closed-door discussion based on Chatam House rules to build openness and free space to convey the challenges faced and provide input.

Representatives of technology companies, including social media platforms and messaging apps, expressed their willingness to collaborate with the Peace Coalition to improve monitoring processes, early warning, and de-escalation mechanisms for the circulation of disinformation and hate speech on social media.

To convey this joint commitment, representatives of the institutions signed a banner "Joint Commitment for Peaceful Elections 2024. Going forward, UNESCO will facilitate follow-up with the parties and pave the way for concrete initiatives that support freedom of expression and access to information as a common need. (VOI/UNESCO)