Bloggers, vloggers, YouTubers, content creators and other members of these cyber communities had met at a gathering highlighting the theme of Prayer and Conversation on the 2019 General Elections in Jakarta on Thursday (March 21).
They also declared a movement calling for posting prayers across a variety of social media platforms, Chairman of the event's organizing committee Hafyz Marshal said in a press statement that Antara received in Jakarta on Friday.
"We hope that members of our society and cyber communities remain calm. Do not let our society get divided and do not resort to slander," he said, adding that the gathering was aimed at helping create a peaceful fiesta of democracy for Indonesia's national leadership.
Sharing Marshal's perspectives, Zulfikar Akbar, a social media influencer, called on community members to exercise critical thinking to suppress political conversations on various issues that could disrupt the nation's unity.
"Political conversations are prone to hoaxes. Hence, please be cautious every time you receive political news. Make sure that your alarm of cautiousness is always on, and do not get accustomed to taking whatever is going viral for granted," he said.
Meanwhile, a social media activist, Pepih Nugraha, hoped that the prayers echoed by the cyber communities would be heard by God so that Indonesia becomes a peaceful, secure, and prosperous country.
"We hold this event only to pray for the sake of our peaceful, secure, and prosperous country, and for maintaining a good relationship among the members of the cyber communities," Nugraha said.
The proliferation of fake news, hate speeches, and slander has obviously become a serious problem prior to this year's general election, amid pledges from the nation's political elite to promote and implement a peaceful election campaign.
The grassroots join the battle by using various social media platforms to influence the political preferences of the people at large. However, certain irresponsible people use social media to spread fake news and resort to slander against certain figures.
Translator: Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
