Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia, as the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 2023, has called on regional countries to cooperate in combating fake news and misinformation related to government.
Speaking at the ASEAN Workshop on guidelines for information management, fighting fake news and misinformation on the mass media on March 2, Ichwan Nasution, an official from the Indonesia Ministry of Communications and Informatics (Kominfo), said this requires good management and general guidelines.
Along with the increase of Internet speed and the penetration of information technology in many fields, fake news and misinformation have become a big problem, not only in ASEAN countries but also all over the world, he said.
According to the official, fake news related to the government is the most serious problem, therefore, Indonesia took the initiative to develop "Guidelines for government information management to combat fake news and misinformation in the media".
The workshop is part of its effort to encourage knowledge and experience sharing among all ASEAN member states.
For his part, Usman Kansong, Director General of Public Information and Communication under Kominfo, affirmed that the Indonesian government is particularly concerned about fake news and misinformation related to the government.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had faced with countless fake news and misleading information such as vaccine issues, virus variants and religious matters, he went on.
Usman said that Kominfo wants to share experiences with ASEAN member countries on steps that can be taken to create effective responses as well as how to detect fake news sites and identify misinformation./.