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In the advancement of information communication technology today not only has a positive impact but also has a negative impact. Submission of information is so fast that everyone has easily produced information, and information that is so fast is spread through several social media such as Facebook, Twitter, or cell phone messages like, WhatsApp and others that cannot be filtered properly.
Information released by both individuals and business entities through social and electronic media when sent and read by many people can affect emotions, feelings, thoughts and even actions of a person or group. It is unfortunate if the information conveyed is inaccurate information, especially the information is hoax information with a very provocative title accompanying the reader and recipient to a negative opinion. Negative opinion, slander, disseminators of hatred received and attacking parties or making people afraid, threatened and can harm the party who is reported so as to damage reputation and cause material loss.
Hoax is a false report / notification that the source is unclear and the content is incorrect. Hoaxes are an attempt to deceive the reader into believing in a particular purpose, even though the fake news knows that the news is false. usually used on the internet such as blogs, e-mails, tweeters, facebook, forums and others.The most common example of false reporting is claiming an event or item with a different name from the actual event / item.That is the understanding of Hoax.
Hoax 'or' fake news' is not something new, and has been widely circulated even since the time of the prophet Muhammad SAW Before the internet age, 'hoax' was even more dangerous than now because it was difficult to verify. As in the hadith, it is told that Abdullah bin Ubay bin Salul slandered that Siti Ayesha had an affair with Shafwan. This slander quickly circulated in Medina, causing shock among Muslims. Because of the accusation of having an affair, to the extent that Rasulullah showed a change in attitude towards Aisyah. Narrated by Aisyah, because of the incident she finally fell ill. "At that time which made me confused, I did not see the tenderness of the Prophet sallallaahu‘ Alaihi Wasallam as usual I saw when I was sick. He just said hello, then asked, "How are you," then left, "said Siti Aisyah (found in the Book of An-Nihayah fi Gharib al-Hadith). More than a month of slander spread and the household life of the Prophet and Aisyah was quite disturbed. Until finally Allah saved Aisyah from slander by lowering the revelation: "Verily the people who bring the hoax are from your group too. Do not think that false news is bad for you, even it is good for you. Every one of them gets a reply from the sin he committed. And who among those who took the biggest part in broadcasting the hoax was for him a great punishment. (Surah An-Nur: verses 11 to verse 21).
According to psychological views, there are two factors that can cause a person to tend to believe in hoaxes easily. People are more likely to believe hoax if the information is in accordance with the opinion or attitude they have. For example, if someone who is a scholar of flat earth gets an article that discusses various conspiracy theories about satellite photos, then instinctively that person will be easy to believe because it supports the flat earth theory that he believes. Naturally positive feelings will arise in someone if their opinions or beliefs get affirmation so they tend not to care whether the information they receive is correct, and even easy for them to redistribute the information. This can be compounded if the hoax spreader has less knowledge in using the internet to find more information or just to check and check facts.
The behavior of spreading hoaxes through the internet is strongly influenced by news makers, both individuals and groups, from those with low to high education, and neatly structured. (Lazonder, Biemans, & Wopereis, 2000) shows that there is a difference between someone who has special expertise in using search engines with people who are new or ordinary in using search engines. They are distinguished by their experience. Individuals who have more experience in using search engines, will tend to be more systematic in conducting search compared to those who still lack experience (novice).
Hoax news is increasingly difficult to contain even though until 2016 the government has blocked 700 thousand sites, but every day hoax news continues to emerge. In January 2017 the government blocked 11 sites containing negative content, but the blocking case did not reach the green table. Some cases in Indonesia related to hoax news have claimed casualties, one of them is the hoax news of kidnapping of children who have been spread on several social media and causing people to be increasingly aware of foreigners.
The government's attitude in the hoax news phenomenon is explained in several articles that are ready to be inflicted on the hoax spreaders, among others, the Criminal Code, Law No.11 of 2008 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE), Law No. 40 of 2008 concerning Elimination of Discrimination Race and Ethnicity. Not only that, hoax news spreaders can also be subject to articles related to hate speech and those that have been regulated in the Criminal Code and other laws outside the Criminal Code.
From the laws made by the government, the number of hoax spreaders is getting bigger and not directly proportional to the number of trials that are also large. By still not being able to ensnare some bastards, it is unfortunate that the government only blocks hoax sites. Broadcasts while hoax news can still continue to produce threats and expansion of space.
In the perspective of Islam, making and spreading the word hoax is strictly forbidden, because it includes a great sin and will receive a painful punishment in the world and the hereafter, as the word of God in Al_Nur verse 19:
Meaning: “Surely those who want that (the news) very cruel deeds are spread among those who believe, for them a painful punishment in the world and in the hereafter. And God knows, while you don't kno”. Another argument about the prohibition of false words (hoaxes) is also contained in Al-Hajj verse 30:
Conclusion:
1. The greater the number of internet users and the easy access to information at the moment makes hoax news more easily spread.
2. Rules and articles for punishing penalties for hoax spreaders have not been able to control the amount of hoax news that continues to be produced every time.
3. Cultures in countries that have internet literacy / social media make hoax news more easily spread.
Criticism and suggestions:
1. Communities need to be equipped with knowledge of Healthy internet with media literacy so that they can recognize hoax news features, and news recipients can access, analyze, evaluate, in taking meaning from a news
2. It would be better if we were aware of not making and spreading hoax news because it would only divide society
May be useful, Amiin yaa Rabbal Aalamiin