Cabinet Secretariat Official Media Social Account to Encounter Hoax, Cabinet Secretary Says

Cabinet Secretary in a dialog session with Cabinet Secretariat employees during a Cabinet Secretariat Working Meeting on Saturday (18/2) at the Cipanas Presidential Palace, West Java

The voice of Cabinet Secretary is officially echoed by Cabinet Secretariat’s official social media, including Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, according to Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung in a dialog session with Cabinet Secretariat employees during a Cabinet Secretariat Working Meeting on Saturday (18/2) at the Cipanas Presidential Palace, West Java.

“First thing I need to tell you is that social media domination in our daily lives is inevitable. I am sure that when you get up, 90 percent of you will look for your cellphones to access social media rather than looking for holy books,” Pramono said in his directives. “This situation has become habit and lifestyle,” he further said.

Pramono added that it is actually called ‘information rush’ which is supported by the technology.

“Thus, as you may know the top 5 richest people in world are not industrialists, nor bankers, but are the founders of social media such as Facebook, Amazon, and others,” Pramono explained.

This is inevitable situation for every country in the world, even the United States. In the last presidential election of the USA between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, CIA Headquarters in Langley was hacked, not to mention FBI data that can be accessed.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, those examples showed that the future war will not be physical, but a mental one, on how to compete to improve and develop our mind,” Pramono added.

According to Pramono, during the Jakarta regional election, the people, consciously or not, are being divided by the social media; and this causes conflict between friends or family.

“WhatsApp group which was used to echo the same voice, to celebrate someone’s birthday or express condolences when someone passed away, is now very tense. People debate in supporting certain candidate without knowing the truth,” Pramono explained.

A solution suggested by Pramono Anung to tackle those matters is media literacy. Pramono added that there will be culminating point, when people get fed up with the media.

“The use of social media in developed countries has now declined because the people are fed up with it. They do not feel comfortable when using social media. They feel furious instead. Moreover, debate on social media is so fierce. The matter about the truth is relative. That is why people have difficulty distinguishing between the right and fake information,” Pramono stated.

Therefore, Cabinet Secretariat employees need to enrich their understanding and knowledge, Pramono concluded. (FID/EN) (RA/EP/YM/Naster)