In this episode, we dive straight into the deep and dark world of fake news & hoaxes. 2016 has been such a wake-up call in making us realize that the problem of fake news & hoaxes has really serious real world implications. We look into how Indonesia has taken on this issue of fake news & hoaxes quite seriously, with President Jokowi declaring a war against hoaxes and the government updating its cyber laws (UU ITE) and setting up cybersecurity divisions in the police force. We unpack what these cyber laws are and talk through the potential implications to our freedom of speech given their recent revisions and changes. We also dig deeper into the financial incentives of fake news & hoaxes as well as the underlying psychological appeal of fake news. We discuss the private sector alternatives to countering fake news, including the significant roles companies like Facebook have to fight this permanent problem. Finally, we urge our listeners to think before you click, and remember that if it’s too good to be true, it’s probably not!
