NEWS ACCURACY CONSTRUCTION BASED ON FOUR FACTS: A JOURNALISTIC FORENSICS STUDY ON THE PRESIDENT JOKO WIDODO'S DIPLOMA CONTROVERSY
Abstract
This study examines the construction of news accuracy based on four facts—empirical, public, psychological, and opinion as formulated by Zulkarnain Hamson in Forensic Journalism: Dissecting News Facts (Z Hamson, 2023a), applying this framework to the controversy surrounding the diploma of the 7th President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (2024–2026). Using a qualitative-descriptive approach and content analysis techniques, this study analyzes how the completeness of the four facts in journalistic reporting determines accuracy, balance, and the weight of news in the era of disinformation. The findings show that (1) the empirical fact in this case was highly verified through forensic laboratory testing by Polri's Forensic Laboratory (Puslabfor); (2) the public fact reveals polarization that persists despite forensic verification; (3) the psychological fact is manifested through the direct expressions of Joko Widodo, the complainants, and alumni of Gadjah Mada University; and (4) the opinion fact appears in the form of expert, experiential, and mandatory opinions that enrich perspective. The main finding: the completeness of the four facts, arranged with logical coherence, produces news that is accurate, contextual, humanistic, and critical, while the absence of one or more facts results in biased and potentially misleading reporting.
Keywords
Monthly Statistics (Last 12 Months)
References
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