In addition to the mobile internet, the Myanmar authorities have ordered the blocking of websites of independent and ethnic news media, among many other sites. Between March 19 and May 11, telecommunications operators and internet service providers received five directives from the Transport and Communications Ministry CASE STUDY: HOW INDONESIA’S KOMINFO IS DEALING WITH INFORMATION DISORDER In a written reply, Semuel Pangerapan, Director-General of Applications and Informatics in Kominfo, explained some of the initiatives that have been taken against misand disinformation: [In] countering information disorder, we aim at three levels, namely the upstream, middle-stream, and downstream levels: 1. At the upstream level, we focus on digital literacy, where we collaborate with more than 110 organizations, such as communities, academics, and government institutions, to carry out information and digital literacy education, coordinated by our national digital literacy movement, called Siberkreasi. 2. At the middle-stream level, we take a series of serious and swift actions to remove access and content from websites, digital platforms, or social media accounts that circulate false information. We do not randomly take blocking actions; we take these actions in accordance with applicable laws. 3. At the downstream level, the ministry supports the law enforcement action to prevent the spread of false information that may cause further chaotic action [in] society, in coordination with the law enforcement bodies. (interview, 2021) under article 77 of the Telecommunications Law to block 2,172 specific websites, of which 92 were alleged to provide “fake news.” Independent and ethnic media sites such as Development Media Group, Narinjara News, Karen News, and Voice of Myanmar were among those ordered blocked. (HRW 2020) Regarding Kominfo’s partnerships, Pangerapan noted the importance of collaboration between multiple stakeholders when dealing with information disorder in a country as diverse and massive as Indonesia. Kominfo engages with several stakeholders to enhance several aspects of its digital literacy program: 1. Local government partners will spearhead the implementation of digital literacy programs across regions in Indonesia. 2. Central government and law enforcement partners will play a role in supporting policies for implementing relevant national digital literacy programs, and at the same time, [they will be] strategic partners for keeping the online community safe from any risks in the digital space. 3. Community partners that are included in the Siberkreasi national digital literacy movement will be partners [in] implementing digital literacy activities, providing expert speakers, and developing joint content/materials [for the] digital literacy national curriculum. 4. Academic institutions will become partners in the preparation of [the] digital literacy curriculum, as well as [in] designing and assisting [with] survey/evaluation/ research activities to measure the effectiveness of our national digital literacy program to enhance the nation’s digital literacy index. 5. Media partners and digital platforms will become the platforms for media showers and [the] online broadcasting of digital literacy activities, as well as [co-creating] digital literacy content. For [social media] platforms, we’ve [also been] collaborating to minimize the spread of negative content and misinformation by [taking] swift action on content take-down and blocking. I N FO R M ATI O N D I SO R D ER IN THE GLOBA L SOUTH 6. International institutional partners will provide experts for knowledge sharing and technical advice [in order to create] synergy between [the] national and international digital literacy curriculum. (interview, 2021) Pangerapan also explained Kominfo’s use of technology : At the Directorate General of Informatics Applications, we use an AI system for analyzing content and reporting it to people. The use of AI technology [involves] crawling or searching for harmful content, like pornography content. By using AI, we can easily validate the content. Some challenges are that the system must continuously develop according to the needs and developments of digital technology. (interview, 2021) In terms of impact assessment, Pangerapan explained: Each month, we measure the number of hoaxes we’re dealing with. Follow-ups on the spread of hoaxes are carried out in three ways: 1. First, fact-checking collaboration with social media platforms and several national media that have fact-check[ing] programs. 2. Second, block[ing] or tak[ing] down hoax content [on] social media platforms. 3. Third, law enforcement cooperation with the Directorate of Cyber Crime and Criminal Investigation at the National Police Headquarters to legally process creators and spreaders of hoax content. (interview, 2021) Asia – 2 1 7