UNAIR NEWS – Media expert Universitas Airlangga Prof. Dra. Rachmah Ida, M.Com., Ph.D., proposed her interesting opinion about hoax news issues which is trending these days. She delivered it during a Professors Innovation Show program, Thursday (16/3).
During a discussion program called “Society Active Role in Handling Hoax in Social Media”, Prof. Ida, how the professor from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) UNAIR is usually called, emphasized that the high number of hoaxes among us essentially originated from the media (society-red) itself. Why, according to Prof. Ida, because hoax has become the society’s need.
“What’s essential is whether the society need the hoax or not. If not, then ignore it. But if the opposite is true, then that’s a different case,” she explained.
Prof. Ida added further, a hoax had a serious implication once it was related to a major system, like a nation. If it was only a small scale hoax, then it was more or less acceptable.
“We often receive a message that we win a certain prize, don’t we? That’s hoax, but it’s all right and we tend to ignore it. Hoax will only has serious implication if has national, political significance, or it involves an agency’s authority. That’s the problem,” emphasized Prof. Ida.
To reduce the impact of a hoax which keeps spreading among our society, Prof. Ida emphasized the need of smartening people. One way of doing it is by teaching them about how to use a social media and what the function of a social media is.
“People use social media not because they are knowledgeable about it, but because they encounter it and then use it right away. They don’t know what WA, BBM is. They use it because other people that they know use it,” she explained. “And it’s our duty to remind, educate, and explain social media functions until they are knowledgeable about it,” she added.
In this occasion Prof Ida expressed her appreciation towards anti-hoax movements raised by some communities. It showed us that there were efforts to remind society about hoaxes which kept on spreading.
“This is a kind of social activity to remind people. But hopefully this is not just temporary euphoria. A movement must produce real actions, not just ceremony. Don’t stop once you’re made official,” she emphasized.
At the end of the discussion, Prof. Ida stated that one effective initiative to redeem hoaxes is software application. In addition, there need to be initiatives about ethics in using social media.
“We can’t eliminate hoax. Yet, there are initiatives we can use to minimize it, like touch their spiritual soul, political policies, and understanding about ethics in exchanging information,” she ended. (*)
Author: Nuri Hermawan
Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh
