Beware of hoaxes during election silence period: Minister

During the period, no one should carry out campaign activities, be it in real life or the digital space. Furthermore, election contestants and mass media are not allowed to broadcast news, advertisements, and other materials that endorse or renounce

Communication and Informatics Minister Budi Arie Setiadi urged the public to beware of the potential of hoaxes circulating in the digital space during the ongoing silence period of the 2024 General Elections.

"We would like to appeal to the people of Indonesia to avoid hoaxes, so that the upcoming elections will run smoothly and be free from hoaxes," he told Antara in Jakarta on Monday.

He encouraged people to prudently use the digital space while avoiding contents that promote hate speeches and slanders regarding the 2024 General Elections in order to partake in maintaining conduciveness in real life and the digital space.

The silence period of the 2024 General Elections, valid on February 11-13, is outlined in the General Elections Commission’s Regulation No. 15 of 2023 concerning general election campaigns.

During the period, no one should carry out campaign activities, be it in real life or the digital space. Furthermore, election contestants and mass media are not allowed to broadcast news, advertisements, and other materials that endorse or renounce any parties.

Setiadi encouraged people to make the most of the silence period to decide on their preferred candidates in the elections before exercising their voting rights on February 14.

"Let us all collaborate to make the 2024 General Elections as a means to unite all the potentials of the country," he stated.

Earlier, on Sunday (February 11), the General Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) had reminded election contestants to not conduct any campaign activities, including on social media, during the silence period.

Bawaslu official Lolly Suhenty noted that the agency had been actively patrolling the cyberspace to monitor accounts registered by election contestants, including their personal accounts.

She explained that such a measure is meant to ensure that those accounts do not carry out campaigns during the silence period.

"We are also aiming to ensure that their personal accounts do not conduct anything prohibited by the Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law, such as spreading slanders," she stated.

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