JAKARTA, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government has announced a plan to publish weekly briefings on fake news, reports said on Thursday.
The government made the decision to prevent disinformation from spreading on social media and push "digital literacy" in the political arena.
"Every week we will announce hoax news," Communications Minister Rudiantara told CNN Indonesia. "The ministry will not just stamp a story as hoax, but we will also provide facts."
With a 70-member specialized content control team, the initiative will start as soon as possible. Apart from the weekly briefings, the debunked posts will also be posted on an official website.
The plan was designed to encourage the Indonesian people to think critically about the news they consume and help them "sort through the news" in the upcoming presidential election, Rudiantara said.
According to the local media Jakarta Globe, Indonesia is the fifth-biggest Twitter user and the fourth-biggest Facebook user in 2017. With one of the largest active social media user groups, the country has witnessed the spread of fake news and misinformation which can be used to manipulate political campaigns and inflame social tensions.
Several days after the presidential election officially started and presidential candidates committed to a peaceful campaign last week, a salacious website detailing the alleged affairs of one of the candidates appeared online, but was soon blocked by the communications ministry.
