Don’t Let Algorithms Define Us

For decades, Indonesian journalism has been built upon principles that are both demanding and noble: covering both sides, exercising checks and balances, and protecting the integrity and safety of information sources. These are not romantic ideals. They are the very foundations of public trust and democratic accountability.

Yet today, the environment in which journalism operates has changed dramatically.

People now read, watch, and react in seconds. Short videos, headlines without context, emotional fragments, and viral narratives increasingly dominate public attention. In this new ecosystem, it is no longer editorial judgment that determines what people see first, but algorithms.

And algorithms, by design, do not reward verification, balance, or responsibility.

They reward attention.

This is where the real danger begins.

When visibility is driven by engagement metrics alone, journalism slowly shifts its priorities. What is important loses ground to what is popular. What is complex is replaced by what is simple. What is verified is overshadowed by what spreads fastest.

Over time, this erodes not only media quality — but public reasoning itself.

Indonesia cannot afford to allow its information ecosystem to be shaped solely by opaque technological systems designed outside our social, cultural, and democratic context. A nation as diverse, complex, and strategic as Indonesia must ensure that its citizens are not guided only by algorithmic recommendations, but by reliable, accountable, and professional sources of information.

This is not a nostalgic defense of traditional media.

It is a call to protect journalistic values in a digital world.

Technology is not the enemy. Digital platforms, artificial intelligence, and data-driven distribution can strengthen journalism — if they are governed by clear public-interest principles. But without firm policy direction, the digital transformation of media risks becoming a silent replacement of editorial responsibility with automated amplification.

Preserving press values cannot be left solely to newsrooms struggling to survive in an increasingly competitive digital market.

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It requires strong leadership from the ministry responsible for media and digital information — leadership that is willing to:

• protect journalistic standards in the digital space,
• establish fair and transparent rules for platform accountability,
• support credible media institutions so that quality journalism remains economically viable, and
• ensure that technological innovation serves the public interest, not merely platform growth.

Indonesia’s future information environment must be built on trust, professionalism, and responsibility, not solely on algorithms.

Because if we allow algorithms to define what our society knows, believes, and debates, we risk losing something far more valuable than market share or audience reach.

We risk losing the moral architecture of our public discourse.

And that is a price no democratic nation should be willing to pay.