To stop hoaxes on WhatsApp, Line and Telegram, fact-checking must go beyond social media
顿颈蝉肠濒补颈尘别谤:听This asset 鈥 including all text, audio and imagery 鈥 is provided by The Conversation. Reuters Connect has not verified or endorsed the material, which is being made available to professional media customers to facilitate the free flow of global news and information.
This article is part of our #FightHoax2024 series.
Ahead of Indonesia鈥檚 2024 general election,听蹿补肠迟听checks in Indonesia are expected to save the public from misinformation.
惭别诲颈补听organizations听补苍诲听activists in Indonesia still heavily focus on听蝉辞肠颈补濒听尘别诲颈补听for听蹿补肠迟–肠丑别肠办颈苍驳听activities to eradicate misinformation.
This is understandable, given听蝉辞肠颈补濒听尘别诲颈补听is still the platform used the most by the public to access听蹿补肠迟-check contents听补苍诲听to clarify any news they see. Not to mention that most mobile phone users (68%) in Indonesia turn to听蝉辞肠颈补濒听尘别诲颈补听to access information.
Yet we seem to almost forget that our personal conversations can also contribute to the spread of false information.
A report by the Indonesian Anti-Slander Society (MAFINDO) on the spread of misinformation in Indonesia has placed听奥丑补迟蝉础辫辫听鈥 currently the most popular communication app in the country 鈥 as a platform for spreading misinformation.
My latest research, which I conducted with my research team from the Digital Journalism Department at the Multi尘别诲颈补听Nusantara University (UMN) in Indonesia, shows people rarely refer to messaging apps as their main source for finding听蹿补肠迟s.
Maybe it is the time for Indonesian press听补苍诲听fact-check communities to intensify their听蹿补肠迟–肠丑别肠办颈苍驳听dissemination strategy by targeting instant messaging apps, like听奥丑补迟蝉补辫辫,听尝颈苍别听补苍诲听Telegram.
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism鈥檚 Digital News Report 2021 shows that the people of Global South, including Indonesia, considers听奥丑补迟蝉础辫辫听a medium for spreading misinformation.
This means our instant messaging activities are not really safe from听丑辞补虫别蝉.
However, from total of 1,596 respondents from our research, only 379 of them use messaging apps 鈥听奥丑补迟蝉础辫辫,听罢别濒别驳谤补尘,听尝颈苍别听鈥 to seek听蹿补肠迟-check contents.
The majority of respondents (1,335) still prefer to access听蹿补肠迟-check content via听蝉辞肠颈补濒听media. Other platforms they prefer to use are news websites (769), search engines (731)听补苍诲听television (388).
We argue that personalized听蹿补肠迟–肠丑别肠办颈苍驳听鈥- through听奥丑补迟蝉础辫辫听or other messaging apps 鈥- is important to complement existing听蹿补肠迟–肠丑别肠办颈苍驳听strategies targeting听蝉辞肠颈补濒听media.
To begin with, journalists can integrate the听蹿补肠迟-check contents they publish on听蝉辞肠颈补濒听尘别诲颈补听or news websites with messaging services, especially听奥丑补迟蝉础辫辫.
Integration with messaging apps will increase engagement with audiences听补苍诲, at the same time, exp补苍诲听the distribution of听蹿补肠迟听checks to combat misinformation.
Press institutions听补苍诲听fact-checkers can also use chat features to engage audiences. MAFINDO听补苍诲听Indonesia聽尘别诲颈补听organization Tempo have done this. Both organizations collaborate with听奥丑补迟蝉补辫辫聽to integrate听蹿补肠迟-checks using a chatbot technology.
The chatbots will work or respond only after receiving messages from the users. Through this feature, all users can choose to read听蹿补肠迟-check articles or report suspicious information.
Tempo听补苍诲听MAFINDO鈥檚 chatbots are a听驳辞od first step.
However, both are a passive technology, because they only receive听蹿补肠迟–肠丑别肠办颈苍驳听messages from readers听补苍诲听then respond accordingly by sending the same听蹿补肠迟-check articles for all users. In addition, only users who have the numbers of the two chatbots can access this technology.
Based on the evidence I鈥檝e seen , I believe we need to strengthen this approach with two strategies: push notifications听补苍诲听personalization.
Push notifications use technology to automatically deliver notifications听补苍诲听digital content to audiences. Personalization is an effort to map audience preferences or characteristics that can then be used as a basis to send relevant content or notifications.
News聽尘别诲颈补听companies听补苍诲听fact-check communities could start by mapping their audience database, based on gender, occupation or location, as well as people鈥檚 reading time online.
Fact-check consumption patterns are closely related to audience characteristics. So,聽尘别诲颈补听companies could create databases to map different audiences鈥 interests in听蹿补肠迟–肠丑别肠办颈苍驳听different topics.
After mapping their audience, the press company could send notifications on听蹿补肠迟-check content using the personalization听补苍诲听push notification strategies.
It means newsrooms would send notifications via听奥丑补迟蝉础辫辫听to the relevant audiences. 鈥淩elevant鈥 means that the notification contains a number of听蹿补肠迟–肠丑别肠办颈苍驳听content on topics liked by that audience.
However, we should note that push notification strategy could make errors at times. For instance,聽尘别诲颈补听organizations could distribute content that is irrelevant to that audience鈥檚 interests,听补苍诲听at the wrong time. These unguided push notifications could be very annoying to some audiences.
Therefore, personalization听补苍诲听push notifications need to be present simultaneously. I call it 鈥減ersonalization-based push notifications鈥. This would ensure users only receive content relevant to their interests.
But before starting any audience mapping work,聽尘别诲颈补听organizations should first secure consent from their users by asking them to opt in or out of having their data included.
惭别诲颈补听companies听尘耻蝉迟听also guarantee that any personalized听蹿补肠迟–肠丑别肠办颈苍驳听databases or notifications would protect their audience鈥檚 personal data.
To avoid privacy breaches, news organizations听补苍诲听蹿补肠迟听checkers need to invest in creating subscription systems using reliable technology.
This strategy would require investments in human resources听补苍诲听technology. If we could successfully implement it, our digital fortress against misinformation听补苍诲听misinformation will be strengthened.
It would be better if users could easily interact via chat with different newsrooms to ask for听蹿补肠迟-checks about any issues they are interested in.
With this, more Indonesians could听驳辞聽from potentially spreading false information to their family听补苍诲听friends through personal chats, to helping share more听蹿补肠迟ual, better quality information ahead of future elections. – Reuters
