Journalism Training to Improve Political Literacy for Muhammadiyah Leuwiliang Students

Journalism Training to Improve Political Literacy for Muhammadiyah Leuwiliang Students Mulkan Habibi*, Hiru Muhammad, Hari Eko Purwanto, Lutfi, Alfareji Febrian, and Hafsya Abida Communication Studies, Universitas Muhammaadiyah Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia * Abstract: People who lack political literacy and are not wise when using communication media are often trapped by the flow of wrong information. So, literacy or education about journalism must be carried out from the early generations. Those who are still students need to prepare themselves from the start to be able to understand the quality of the various information they receive, including political information. This community service aims to provide understanding and increase journalistic literacy for Muhammadiyah students who are members of the Leuwiliang Muhammadiyah Student Association organization in Bogor Regency, West Java. Community Service Method using approach Participatory Action Research (PAR) carried out in the form of socialization and assistance to Muhammadiyah Leuwiliang students carried out in several stages, including mapping the conditions of problems faced by partners, preparing training program steps, preparing the division of tasks for each service team, and then carrying out training in the form of providing journalistic material and various types of hoax information, which is usually spread through various social media platforms. The results of community service conclude that students need a variety of information or a collection of data or facts that can be managed into something useful for the recipient. Muhammadiyah students need information that supports various processes such as education, political participation, and Muhammadiyah's missionary needs. Keywords: journalism; literacy; muhammadiyah students; political © 2024 Bubungan Tinggi: Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat Received: 5 February 2024 DOI Accepted: 11 June 2024 Published: 7 November 2024 : https://doi.org/10.20527/btjpm.v6i4.11877 How to cite: Habibi, M., Muhammad, H., Purwanto, H. E., Lutfi, L., Febrian, A., & Abida, H. (2024). Journalism training to improve political literacy for muhammadiyah leuwiliang students. Bubungan Tinggi: Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat, 6(4), 796-804. INTRODUCTION The development of communication technology has significantly impacted human life. The advent of two communication media platforms, social media and online media, has made it easier for people to obtain necessary information and facilitate interactions. As social beings, humans live together and cannot carry out social activities without involving others (Hantono & Pramitasari, 2018). The use of social media as an inevitability of technological advancement means that most of society, especially students, are adept at using social media. Even political figures utilize the media as their political communication tool. Research Habibi et al./Bubungan Tinggi: Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat 6 (4) 2024 796-804 by Habibi et al. (2022) notes that at least three regional heads actively used Facebook accounts as a means of political communication to provide important information related to local government policies, public facilities, and their daily activities as regional heads. One of the essential needs that humans must meet in every activity they undertake is the source of information. Information is the first instrument humans need to complete various interactions. With information, people will be able to determine their attitudes when interacting with and influencing others. It can even become a factor that hampers fulfilling various needs and maintaining their lives. Social life requires actions and reactions among social beings, creating interactions among humans (Mulyadi & Liauw, 2020). Only with the right information can someone’s interactions and actions benefit the social life of humans. Various pieces of information possessed by someone become an important strength in the context of social life because information is a collection of data or facts managed into something beneficial for the recipients. Ideally, information is processed first so that recipients can easily understand it. Information should be disseminated in a valuable or meaningful form. However, in reality, this is only sometimes the case. Information presented to the public must often align with actual data and facts. Such information is spread for purposes other than providing beneficial information and is usually found during the run-up to or during political years. 2023 is a political year because all political elements, including political parties and politicians running for legislative and presidential elections in 2024, will work hard to pass the 2024 election threshold and support their candidate to win the 2024 presidential election. In Indonesia, a political year is not only a contest of political ideas but also often features various black political strategies. Various hoax information colours the political contest openly. Groups deliberately presenting and spreading false information to bring down someone or a certain group pose a dangerous act to Indonesia's political education. In a society with inadequate political literacy, it is easy to be influenced by misleading information. Hoax news is often found on online media platforms and spread through social media. The presence of social media as a digital communication tool can have a positive impact by providing easy access to important information. However, it also has negative impacts if used unwisely. The spread of hoax news about political information during the 2019 election threatened public tranquillity. Tranquility, an implementation of national resilience, is needed to face an era where various false news stories tarnish information values. Therefore, national resilience in the post-truth era must be continuously maintained in society, nation, and state life, serving as a strength to face global challenges (Amilin, 2019). Hoax news is currently widespread in society and across various social media platforms. Groups create hoax news intentionally for various interests that can harm others and even the state. Such conditions worry many people, especially during this political year, as spreading hoax news can harm individuals or groups. If society cannot understand the true information, conflicts may arise. Hoax news affects all societal groups, including students, who are highly vulnerable to becoming victims of hoax news. Therefore, it is crucial to provide students with journalistic literacy and understanding. High school students, in particular, are a major age group with voting rights and 797 Habibi et al./Bubungan Tinggi: Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat 6 (4) 2024 796-804 are future political decision-makers in Indonesia. If political information circulating among students contains false elements, it will mislead and result in the wrong political choices. Providing journalistic and media litera (...truncated)