Gov't Continues to Block Internet in Papua

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The internet connection of cellular phone services in Papua and West Papua, up to today, remained blocked. Communication and Informatics Ministry said that the move will continue to be implemented until the situation and condition in the two regions return to normal.

The ministry's acting head of public relation Ferdinandus Setu said his side continues to conduct an evaluation with law enforcer and related institutions.

Until 16:00 on Friday, even though the condition in several cities and regencies slowly recovered, the distribution and transmission of hoax, fake news, provocative, and racist information were still high.

"The ministry at least found 33 items and a total of 849 URLs contained hoax and provocative news related to Papua issue," Ferdinandus said Friday, August 23.

The URL that contains hoax and provocative news was distributed to hundreds of thousands of social media users on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Ferdinandus explained, despite the internet blocking, the people can still communicate through phone call and text/SMS.

The ministry calls on the internet users in the country to not distribute vague electronic information whose truth cannot yet be verified, as well as hoaxes, provocative news, and racist information which potentially creates hate.

The public is appealed to report hoax contents to the communication ministry through a WhatsApp text to 0811 922 4545 or send email to aduankonten@mail.kominfo.go.id, and Twitter @aduankonten. The reporter only needs to attach their name, the link, and a screenshot of the negative and hoax contents intended to be reported.

ANTARA