Thursday, March 2nd, 2017 the Ubaya FBE Postgraduate students attended a seminar organized by the 8th Leadership Club (LC) generation themed “Critical Thinking & Literacy in The Age of Hoax”. Chaired by Bagus Kurniawan, the seminar invited Dr. Anindito Aditomo (Director of Ubaya PPKP) and Rovien Aryunia (Coordinator of Mafindo Surabaya) as resource persons. The series of events include the material presented by Dr. Anindito Aditomo then continued by Rovien Aryunia. The event was then preceded by a Question and Answer session moderated by Dr. Bonnie Soeherman to a group photo at the end of the event.
Dr. Anindito Aditomo pointed out an understanding that humans have two systems of thinking models. The first system is a system of thinking that is very fast and without realizing / spontaneity. The first system can work automatically because it is often trained continuously and stored in long-term memory. The second system involves a slower processing of information on the conscious state. In addition to thinking, Anindito Aditomo also explains the bias of reasoning or alternation called the halo effect. Halo Effect is a bias in making specific conclusions based on general impression. An example is between ebola and obesity. Ebola disease is very popular because it can cause death as broadcasted by the news. Whereas, obesity is considered normal even though it is statistically more fatal.
Critical thinking is required for any information obtained. Critical thinking does require skill, but the main component that is needed is self-control which is not just ability but will. Hoax tends to appear in bombastic titles so people tend to be interested in spreading the news. It would be better to test the opinions and facts that exist or compare with other sources before spreading the news. Basically, everyone can think critically against people who they hate and it is a negative thing. People will tend to spread the news that is considered bombastic though not yet know the truth for the sake of momentary satisfaction. Satisfaction is a feeling of pride that he is a smart and up-to-date person as the first person who spreads the news. Spreading hoax news seems to have no consequence, but we must remain cautious about the information being disseminated as it now applies the ITE Act.
The session was then continued with the material by Rovien Aryunia who explained the impact that would result if the hoax is spread continuously. The impact that occurs is the hoax will drown the facts so that people become more difficult to distinguish which one is right which one is wrong. The hoax news is often disseminated massively in social and exclusive groups. Hoax news that is left continuously without any clarification can result in the death of a character. Rovien Aryunia gave tips to detect hoaxes such as correcting provocative news headlines, taking care of website addresses, checking facts from authoritative sources, checking photos used, and comparing them with anti-hoax fan pages or following an anti-hoax discussion group. “Filter before sharing, remember that what we share on social media can harm ourselves,” said Rovien.
Adhika, Class 51 MM student said, “The flow of material delivery was very systematic. The resource person was very competent with the hoax topic, so the explanation is easy to understand. The seminar made me realize that not all of the information is correct, even though it is distributed by reliable parties. In this hoax era, we must be smarter in refining all information and must confirm the source of such information.” The same thing is expressed by Bambang who said that the examples given are so relevant and easy to understand. The material gave an insight that Hoax’s news dissemination is the responsibility of the reader and newsreader. Everyone who reads the news must also be cautious by filtering out the information received before disseminating it.
Each participant also wrote down their hopes and resolutions regarding the Hoax news in the technological era in “Wall of Hope”. #IndonesiaAntiHoax, Be SMART n Say No to Hoax, Do not want the country divided because of Hoax, Stop! Let’s United! are some of the participants’ expressions and expectations of the hoax news phenomenon in the Wall of Hope.
