The internetis home to an overabundance of internet trolls that despite efforts to eliminate them from daily conversations, most still get away with anything form posting comments that incite hatred to spreading fake news.
But not for Eko Prasetia, who earlier this month thought a hoax he had spread would go unnoticed, not realizing he was messing with the wrong crowd.
On Jan. 3, Eko posted a picture on Facebook, in whicha few men were seen sitting on a sidewalk with their faces against the camera or covered with hats. The caption: Cyber team / buzzer of that person who insulted (our) religion attending todays trial. They are ashamed and afraid that their faces will be published, it read. They act like prostitutes from China, covering their faces.
Ekos post went viral and was shared more than 2,000 times. He enjoyed his sudden fame, until individuals in the pictures discovered hispost and decided to speak up.
As it turns out, the men in the picture were not "buzzers" a popular term for online influencers as mentioned by Eko, but photojournalists waiting to cover the blasphemy case trialof Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama.
A friend told me, but I just checked it at around 3 p.m., Lucky Pransiska, chairman of theIndonesian Photojournalist Association, told Brilio. I traced the source then I published an open letter at 6.30 p.m.
Eko Prasetia responded to the letter by 10 p.m., but it was only for a few minutes. Next thing I know, the account has been deactivated.
The photojournalists on site told me that they were relaxing after finishing their duty that day when a guy in white kopiah came to us and took picture with his phone. They were uncomfortable with that so they chose to cover their faces, Lucky added.
Eko has apologized through a comment on the associations page, saying that he found the post from another account and he admitted that he was wrong to not verify the content before posting. He also begged that the association stop any legal process regarding his post.
However, his apologies did not stop Lucky, on behalf of the association, alongside with individual photojournalists working for various media from CNN Indonesia, The Jakarta Post, Rakyat Merdeka, to Detik, from reporting Eko to the Jakarta Police on Wednesday afternoon for defamation and libel.
When asked whetherthey were taking things a little too far, Lucky disagreed, saying the post has harmed their profession and that it is necessary for action to be taken against it.
(brl/red)
