Indonesia to Spread Peace, Tolerance Through Partnership With Social Media

Jakarta (Antara Bali)- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had visited Silicon Valley in California as the government is keen to forge partnership with the social media to promote tolerance and peace, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi stated.

"So, we spoke to Facebook and Twitter. We told them that social media has been used for spreading extremism and recruiting FTF (foreign terrorist fighters). Therefore, we are obliged to balance the information," she stated aboard the aircraft carrying the president and his entourage to Jakarta, Friday.

She noted that the social media could become an effective platform for the public to counter terrorism. But at the same time, it could be used by terrorist networks to make coordination and communication.

The social media must be developed to spread the foundation of tolerance.

"The message of peace and tolerance could be spread through the social media," she noted.

Therefore, during his visit to Silicon Valley, the president wrote a peace message "Together Peace in Harmony" on the Wall of Facebook in Menlo Park.
At the Plug and Play Headquarters, Jokowi wrote "Start it up, prosper together."

During the US-ASEAN Summit held in Sunnylands, he invited the attending leaders to join Indonesia in empowering the agents of peace. (WDY)