JAKARTA -- With nothing more than a WhatsApp message, Indonesia's government in early May made its position on "fake news" clear: zero tolerance.
For a few days, media reports had been circulating about a decision to issue visas to Israelis, citing the website of the "Israel Indonesia Agency." Yet no one had heard of the organization, and Indonesia does not recognize Israel. Then, with a lunchtime dispatch on the messaging app, the foreign ministry shot the story down, calling the news "wrong and misleading."