Bahtiar Effendy Auditorium, FISIP Online – The Political Science Study Program FISIP UIN Jakarta held a Studium Generale (Public Lecture) with the theme "2024 Election: Misinformation and Indonesian Democracy", Thursday (05/10/2023) at the Bahtiar Effendy Auditorium, FISIP UIN Jakarta Campus .

This public lecture activity, which was attended by hundreds of FISIP UIN Jakarta academics, invited Arya Fernandes (Chair of the Department of Politics and Social Change, CSIS) as a resource person and M. Ezha Fachriza (Lecturer at FISIP UIN Jakarta) as moderator. Also attending this activity, Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs Dr. Iding Rosyidin and Head of Political Science Study Program FISIP UIN Jakarta Dr. Syriac.

Wadek Iding in his opening remarks said that he stated the importance of understanding the potential for spreading misinformation in the context of general elections. He underlined that elections are the culmination of the democratization process, where people have the right to choose their leaders based on correct and accurate information.

Wadek also highlighted the role of social media and information technology in facilitating the spread of false or misleading information.

“When misinformation is disseminated on various digital platforms, especially on social media, the impact can be very damaging. "This can influence public perception, trigger confusion, and even trigger tensions in society," he said.

Therefore, Wadek also hopes that the public lecture participants can digest the material provided by the resource person well.

Arya Fernandez in his presentation explained the relationship between democracy and the Human Development Index (HDI). According to Arya, democratic provinces generally have high HDI scores.

A democratic system allows elected leaders to make policies that pay attention to improving the quality of life, public services and human development. A democratic country, he continued, has stable institutions and good governance so that it can encourage economic growth.

"As the economy improves, HDI (per capita income, access to education and health) will also increase. Therefore, HDI is the variable that most influences the Democracy Index. "The higher the HDI of a province, the higher the Democracy Index," he said.

Arya also added that the current national political conditions have changed, where the proportion of young voters (aged 17-39 years) is predicted to approach 60 percent of the total voters and there has been a change in voter interest from populist leaders to leaders with integrity.

“Apart from that, the information medium has also changed. "Internet penetration is increasing and social media is becoming a reference for political information," he added.

With increasing public access to the internet, he continued, the potential for missing information which could become a source of polarization at the voter level also increases.

He also revealed that there are several models of information disruption that will occur in the 2024 election, including the spread of fake news to discredit candidates/parties, organizers or influence the election process, fake news targeting manipulation of voting and vote counting, and fake news related to survey and counting results.

"Therefore, voters must play an active role in stemming the circulation of false information. "Apart from that, election organizers must also be more active in responding to wild issues regarding the election," he concluded.