Spreading fake news or hoaxes is almost as dangerous as spreading the virus! Today, Indonesia is trying its best to reduce the number of confirmed positive patients and deaths from the COVID-19 virus. Not only the COVID-19 virus, but at times we are also being hit by a ‘virus’ that is no less dangerous. What’s that?

During the current condition which is quite debilitating for the body and mind, the hoax ‘virus’ has also spread rapidly. Misinformation spread by irresponsible parties creates fear and causes a decrease in the body’s immune system and can even lead to death.

Reporting from Kompas.com, through his Twitter account (@HelmiIndraRP), Helmi shared his personal experience as a witness of how dangerous hoaxes attack a person’s mentality and way of thinking so that it can affect how a person makes decisions and acts.

“After a few days of fighting, [my] dad lost in the war against COVID-19. So what caused [my] dad to lose? Hoaxes played a big role in this, apart from comorbidities,” said Helmi.

Hoax is not something that is accidentally made but it is deliberately planned, created, and spread by irresponsible people to confuse the public by twisting the facts that already exist. In the end, this has a negative impact on the public but is beneficial for these irresponsible individuals.

To stop spreading this hoax virus, it will be more difficult if we only expect the hoax makers to stop. Therefore, what we can do as disseminators of information is to strengthen the filtration of the information that reaches us.

When we receive information, make sure we know and understand the content of the information. In addition, we also need to know for sure the truth or credibility of the information. If we do not understand the content and credibility of the information, then what we need to do is stop that information from us.

Forwarding information takes a very short time. However, the impact of the spread of hoaxes is very large and lasts for a long time. In addition, hoaxes also have a negative impact on personal branding and our sense of empathy as human beings.

Visit our podcast section to hear a deeper and more detailed explanation on the topic “Hoax Mematikan” by Daniel V. Lie, President/Global Chief Executive of digima ASIA collaborating with SmartFM Radio on the Smart DigiTalk program.