Hoax Content Rife with Demonstration Action Ahead of RI Independence Day, Minister of Communication and Digital Appeals to the Public and Media to Counter Disinformation

Jakarta, August 4, 2026 – Minister of Communication and Digital Meutya Hafid invited the public to counter hoaxes amid the proliferation of content related to demonstration actions on social media, which are mostly old videos or edited results. She also asked mass media to strengthen its role in presenting accurate, balanced, and timely information.

According to Meutya, the speed of the media in conveying correct information is one of the keys to preventing the spread of disinformation that can confuse and worry the public.

"Friends of the media, please cover and report the truth quickly so as not to give space to disinformation that enters," said Minister of Communication and Digital Meutya Hafid at the Ministry of Communication and Digital Office, Central Jakarta, Monday (8/3/2026).

As is known, ahead of the commemoration of RI Independence Day, social media has been bustling with video demonstration content uploaded without including the time of occurrence.

Various narratives in these uploads seem to imply that there was a large demonstration but did not receive news coverage, and some even accused there were deletions of content as alleged major demo events.

Meanwhile, according to Meutya, various hoax content is still produced with increasingly diverse patterns. Some information is completely false, while others use old materials re-distributed with different contexts or exploiting events abroad that are claimed to have occurred in Indonesia.

"Friends must see the video. There are those who are truly hoaxes because the event never happened. There are those who use old images with different contexts. There are also those who combine events in other countries as if they were happening in Indonesia," she explained.

Therefore, Meutya believes that media has a strategic role in maintaining the quality of public information through journalistic work that emphasizes verification and accuracy.

The rapid and accurate reporting is considered to prevent the public from being exposed to false narratives deliberately created to trigger fear or unrest.

"The truth is a shared responsibility. The media plays an important role in ensuring that the public receives facts, not information intentionally created to cause fear," said Meutya.

On the other hand, the Minister of Communication and Digital, Meutya, urged the public not to easily believe or spread various hoax videos of demonstration actions that are widely circulating on social media.

Because based on monitoring results, several viral videos identified as old recordings re-uploaded without explanation regarding the time and context of the event, which has the potential to mislead the public.

Meutya said that the re-distribution of old content as if it were a new event can form a mistaken perception, exacerbate the situation, and trigger disinformation in the digital space.

"The spread of false information is not just a matter of digital content. Because hoax information has an impact on individual decisions day by day. Some are afraid to go out, some worry when working. In my opinion, this is not right, it is not true, and undermines democratic values and the spirit of nationalism at the commemoration of Independence Day,” said Meutya.

Meutya invited all parties, including media and the public, together to maintain a healthy digital space by emphasizing correct, verified, and beneficial information for the public.

In addition, wise use of social media can avoid hoaxes or disinformation (false information deliberately spread with the aim of deceiving, misleading, or manipulating public opinion).

"Therefore, I urge you not to spread false information with the intention of causing fear in the community using inaccurate data,” said Meutya.