Several Indonesian media critics of the government’s reaction to coronavirus have been affected by a series of hacking attacks that the International Federation of Journalists (FIP) described Tuesday as a risk to press freedom.
Recently, at least 4 organizations have been targeted by a series of “unprecedented” virtual attacks, which may aim to “restrict critical information and suppress press freedom,” the organization said in a statement.
“The FIP is seriously involved in these piracy incidents and is calling on the government to conduct a thorough investigation,” he said.
“These online attacks obstruct press freedom by creating a climate of concern that can lead to self-censorship.”
On Friday, the main media page Tempo was replaced via a black screen with the word “deception” in bold red, while several articles criticizing the Indonesian intelligence agency’s role in responding to the epidemic were removed from Tirto’s online media. Page.
It was not transparent who the attacks were and neither the police nor the national intelligence firm responded to requests for comment.
Epidemiologist Pandu Riono was hacked into his Twitter account after criticizing a study collaboration between the government and the university that he said was based on foreign standards.
Indonesia’s embassy in Canberra last week criticized an Australian media report quoting Riono, saying that the fourth most populous country in the world could already have a million cases of viruses, more than six times the official figure.
Indonesia had reported more than 150,000 cases of COVID-19 and 6,759 deaths, but with some of the lowest detection rates in the world, the actual scale is much higher.
The Southeast Asian archipelago of nearly 270 million other people is one of the highest hit by the epidemic in Asia and the government has been heavily criticized for its response.
Dozens of the number one care physicians have died from deadly respiratory disease, while fitness officials have warned that many young people may have also died.
bur-pb/fox