Jakarta – The Jakarta Police has formed a special task force to scour the internet in the war against fake news and hoaxes.
Chief Insp. Gen. Idham Azis said on Monday that the hoax-busting team was formed under the special crimes investigation directorate (Ditreskrimsus) to handle the spread of hoaxes in the police area of authority.
"The Jakarta Police will eradicate fake news and will charge those who spread it," added Idham, as quoted by kompas.com, during the anti-hoax movement declaration event that was observed across the city by all precincts.
The country has recently seen a spate of fake news, ranging from the religious-tinged issues to allegations of communism. The most recent arrests were members of the Muslim Cyber Army (MCA) by the National Police, with one of those arrested being a contract lecturer at the Islamic University of Indonesia (UII) in Yogyakarta. (jlm)