Navigating Religious Discourse in the Social Media Era: Empowering Youth for Preventing and Interrupting Violence in Social Media and Hate Speech

A collaboration with United Religion Initiative (URI)

This discussion was held on Tuesday, May 21st 2024

Speakers:

Jerry White

Executive Director of United Religion Initiative (URI)

Maria Crespo

Director of Member Support of United Religion Initiative (URI)

Moderator:

Clara Clarissa

Project and Communication Manager of 1000 Abrahamic Circles Project

Background

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, in March 2023, 94% percent of Indonesian young people, aged 16-30 years, were active social media users, this shows that young people are very close to social media and all the content in it. Whereas according to the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), in 2023 alone there were 2,670 contents containing Intolerance, Radicalism and Terrorism on social media in Indonesia, from the above data it can be concluded that young people are very vulnerable to being exposed to issues of intolerance and radicalism through social media or even through their environment. In addition, in processing information on social media, young people also tend to feel more free and unbound, thus sharing information more readily, often without serious consideration. Because of this, social media is very vulnerable to being a source of harmful speech and misinformation and misperceptions that is itself harmful and can lead to verbal or even physical violence.

Before surfing further on social media, young people should know how to manage information and respond to information obtained before they take action based on it. In the context of interfaith, young people should also be wiser in using religious terms and be objective about any information they get, so that religious information does not grow as a new seed of conflict but instead, can be a soothing message of peace. This workshop will discuss how young people can fulfill the above criteria when dealing with religious issues on social media.

Objectives

This workshop aims to introduce young people to how they process and respond to religious and other information obtained through social media, in addition, they will also be explained regarding the contagious nature of harmful behaviors and the importance of controlling emotions and being wise in acting on social media. And the participants will discuss how to respond and provide solutions to an escalation of religious conflict that occurs in their environment and on social media.

Language: English and Indonesia

Total Participants: 150 participants