Mechanism to Handle Election Disinformation (ID0139)

Brief Description of the Commitment

Implement a General Election monitoring and supervision system to create Elections that are Free of Expression and Without Disinformation, thus increasing accountability for Election implementation.

Problem Definition

1. What problem does the commitment aim to address? In the 2019 election, there was a sharp polarization between contestation supporters, which continues to this day. This polarization is indirectly caused by the widespread disinformation or hoaxes, which polarizes society between one supporter and another. Through this commitment, it is hoped that the issue of disinformation will come to the attention of the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) by preparing some technical regulations and a participatory monitoring system to deal with disinformation issues in elections. Thus, there will be accountable elections that will receive high public support.

2. What are the causes of the problem? The Masyarakat Anti Fitnah Indonesia (Mafindo) explained that between 2018 and the 2019 elections, there were 997 pieces of news in the hoax category. Of these news stories, 448 (49.9%) fall into the political class. Other data from the Masyarakat Telematik Indonesia (Mastel) in 2019 found that the Indonesian people receive hoax news daily, reaching 34.60%. Masyarakat Telematik Indonesia obtained hoax news through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube, which came 87.50%, with 93.20% news related to social politics. This illustrates that disinformation or hoaxes are one of the things that need to be addressed in the holding of elections because the impact it has is enormous.

Commitment Description

1. What has been done so far to solve the problem? General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) has collaborated with the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) to prepare a disinformation monitoring system related to elections. The General Election Commission together with Bawaslu also has a legal basis for the implementation of elections as stipulated in Law Number 7 of 2017 for holding General Elections and Law Number 10 of 2016 concerning simultaneous Regional Head Elections.

2. What solution are you proposing? Bawaslu needs to formulate regulations and establish a participatory monitoring system or mechanism (involving civil society) to suppress acts of disinformation by election participants and the general public.

3. What results do we want to achieve by implementing this commitment? Formulating of Regulations or Oversight Mechanisms for the Implementation of General Elections to prevent disinformation or hoaxes from occurring.

Commitment Analysis

1. How will the commitment promote transparency? N/A

2. How will the commitment help foster accountability? Through this trust, public confidence in the implementation of elections will be higher due to acts of fraud and the impact of polarization caused by information that can be suppressed or legally enforced.

3. How will the commitment improve citizen participation in defining, implementing, and monitoring solutions? By implementing a participatory oversight mechanism, the public can also carry out monitoring and supervision related to the implementation of the election to increase public confidence in the implementation of the election.

Commitment Planning (Milestones | Expected Outputs | Expected Completion Date)

Formulation of regulations or mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of elections related to disinformation | A Mechanism for Monitoring of Election Implementation related to Disinformation | December 2024

Action Plan Review

Commitment 5. Mechanism to handle election disinformation

• Verifiable: Yes
• Does it have an open government lens? Yes
• Potential for results: Unclear