From Viral to Valid: Information Challenges in the AI Era

The development of digital technology over the past two decades has transformed the landscape of mass communication in many countries, including Indonesia. In the era of traditional media, information flowed vertically from media institutions to the public. In the new media era, communication has become more horizontal, participatory, and extremely fast. The internet, social media, instant messaging applications, and video-sharing platforms have turned the public from mere consumers of information into producers and distributors as well.

This shift has given rise to citizen journalism — the activity of reporting, documenting, and disseminating information by ordinary citizens without being tied to formal press institutions. In Indonesia, this practice has grown rapidly along with increasing internet penetration and smartphone usage. Various events, from disasters, accidents, public services, to political issues, are often first known to the public through citizens’ posts on social media before being picked up by mainstream media.

On one hand, citizen journalism expands democratic space by giving ordinary people the opportunity to voice their experiences and opinions in the public sphere. On the other hand, this openness also creates serious problems such as hoaxes, information manipulation, privacy violations, trial by social media, and social polarization.

Therefore, the dynamics of new media journalism are not only related to technological development but also to ethics, social responsibility, and the quality of digital democracy.

Paradigm Shift in Communication in the New Media Era

New media has shifted the old one-way communication model into an interactive, network-based communication pattern. Previously, mass media such as television, radio, and newspapers acted as gatekeepers that decided what information was worthy of publication. Every news item went through stages of verification, source confirmation, language editing, and journalistic ethics considerations.

Now, that role has been disrupted. With just a smartphone and an internet connection, anyone can broadcast events live via social media. The public no longer has to wait for professional media to learn about an incident. Information spreads extremely quickly and can go viral in a matter of minutes.

According to Istiani et al. in Trend Citizen Journalism in Shaping News Narratives on Social Media (2025), the trend of citizen journalism shows that society is increasingly active in shaping news narratives through social media. This phenomenon marks the shift of communication power from media institutions to public participation.

This paradigm shift brings several important implications, such as the decentralization of information, faster news distribution, increased interactivity, and the emergence of diverse perspectives in the public sphere. However, speed often triumphs over accuracy. It is in this context that new media presents a paradox: the democratization of information goes hand in hand with increasing risks of information chaos.

Citizen Journalism in Indonesia

Indonesia is one of the countries with the largest social media users in the world. High usage of platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X has made Indonesian society very active in producing digital content.

Citizen journalism has developed in various forms, ranging from live event reporting, monitoring public services, social advocacy, to promoting regional potential. In many cases, citizen journalism helps mainstream media discover issues that were previously overlooked. Several professional media outlets now even provide special channels for citizen contributions.

However, it is important to understand that citizen contributions differ from professional journalistic work. Professional journalists are bound by codes of ethics, verification standards, source protection, and legal responsibility. In contrast, citizens often produce content spontaneously without fully understanding the ethical implications or legal consequences.

The Threat of Hoaxes, Misinformation, and Disinformation

One of the biggest challenges in the new media era is the flood of fake information. The Ministry of Communication and Digital (Kemkomdigi) recorded that from the 2020 pandemic period to the end of 2023, the government had handled 12,547 hoax issues. This figure shows that information pollution has become a serious problem in Indonesia’s digital space.

Information disorders come in various forms: hoaxes, misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation. Their spread is driven by many factors, such as the culture of sharing information without reading it fully, sensational headlines, political polarization, low digital literacy, and platform algorithms that prioritize engagement.

The impacts are very real. False information can trigger public panic, sharpen inter-group hatred, erode trust in institutions, and disrupt social stability and national security.

New Challenge: Deepfakes and Artificial Intelligence

In addition to text-based hoaxes, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) presents a new threat in the form of deepfakes — highly realistic manipulations of audio, images, or video. In 2024, Kemkomdigi noted a 550% global increase in deepfake content. This has become a major challenge because ordinary people are finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish between real and fabricated content.

The potential dangers are vast: from fake videos of public figures ahead of elections, manipulative audio triggering panic, face manipulation for extortion, to the fabrication of visual evidence in social conflicts. In the context of citizen journalism, deepfakes pose a serious threat because the public tends to trust visual evidence. If the principle of “seeing is believing” was once considered sufficient, in the AI era, that principle no longer fully applies.

The Dialectic of Stakeholders in Public Verification

Digital information problems cannot be solved by one party alone. Collaboration is needed between the government, media, digital platforms, academics, and society to build a healthy information ecosystem.

The government plays a role in formulating policies, improving digital literacy, and taking action against cyber violations. Collaboration between the government and the media in combating the flood of hoaxes is therefore very important.

On the other hand, professional media must remain the main reference for public information. The Press Council emphasizes that mainstream media must uphold principles of fact verification, balance of sources, data accuracy, right of reply, and reporting ethics.

Srikandi and Budiharjo in Citizen Journalism as an Implementation of Participatory Media Culture in the Era of Media Convergence (2023) explain that citizen journalism is part of participatory media culture in the media convergence era. However, the practice remains vulnerable to problems if not accompanied by editorial responsibility.

The Importance of the 3E+1N Principle in Citizen Journalism

For citizen journalism not to become merely an aimless act of uploading information, a value foundation is needed to guide the public in producing and disseminating content responsibly. One relevant approach is the principle of Enlightenment, Education, Empowering, and Nationalism (3E+1N).

Enlightenment emphasizes that every published content should provide better understanding to society. Shared information must help the public comprehend situations objectively, rather than confusing them.

Education positions citizen journalism as a means of social learning. Content created by the public can become educational media on safety, public services, digital literacy, and basic legal awareness. Using simple language close to everyday life, such information is often more easily understood by the public.

Empowering asserts that information should drive positive social change. Citizens can use social media to promote local MSMEs, report damaged public facilities, share scholarship information, blood donors, or job opportunities. Thus, information does not stop at entertainment consumption but becomes a tool for community empowerment.

Nationalism emphasizes that freedom of expression in digital space must be grounded in national interests and social unity. Nationalism in this context does not mean being anti-criticism, but ensuring that criticism is delivered constructively without dividing society.

Amid the rise of hate speech, identity politics, and digital provocation, citizen journalism should help maintain social cohesion by presenting narratives of tolerance, mutual cooperation, and respect for Indonesia’s diversity.

The journalistic dynamics of new media show that technology has turned almost everyone into a communication actor. Citizen journalism opens up broader democratic space, accelerates information flow, and strengthens public participation.

However, without adequate ethics and digital literacy, this freedom can turn into threats such as hoaxes, slander, polarization, and digital manipulation. Therefore, the future of Indonesia’s digital space greatly depends on synergy between the government, professional media, technology platforms, academics, and society.

The application of the 3E+1N principles elevates citizen journalism beyond mere content creation. It can develop into a social instrument that enlightens society, educates the public, empowers communities, and safeguards national unity.

If every digital citizen adopts these principles as a guide, Indonesia’s new media space has the potential to grow into a healthy, intelligent, productive, and civilized communication ecosystem.

Author: Andre Finaka (Public Relations Practitioner at Kemkomdigi and Master’s Student in Communication Science at Sahid University)

Read in Bahasa Indonesia.