Indonesia struggles with religious intolerance. In some parts of the country, conflict between different religious groups has resulted in conflict between extremist groups and the government, as well as persecution of minority groups.
An initiative by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) aims to use social media to combat hate speech and build peace in Indonesia. In July 2025, UNESCO’s Social Media 4 Peace project officially launched its second phase in Indonesia. The project aims to build resilience in societies against potentially harmful online content, particularly hate speech. It aims to strengthen freedom of expression and promote peace through social media and digital technology.
In its work in Indonesia, Social Media 4 Peace will help to build teachers’ capacity with Media and Information Literacy (MIL) toolkits, which outline core competencies of seven elements of media and information literacy for students in grades 7-12. The toolkits will provide subject-specific guidance.
Septiaji Eko Nugroho, Head of Mafindo, the organization that will develop this toolkit, says that many teachers say the toolkit is exactly what they need to teach critical thinking and online responsibility. Nogruho said that in the long term, the toolkit is meant to be, “a sustainable, scalable resource that empowers schools, strengthens digital resilience, and fosters a generation of critical thinkers equipped to navigate today’s complex media landscape.”
There will also be an initiative focusing on MIL empowerment in religious schools specifically, led by the media research and training organization Solopos Institute. Since hate speech often promotes religious intolerance, the initiative views religious schools as playing a critical role in forming values. Syifaul Arifin, Head of Solopos Institute, says the initiative especially hopes to raise awareness of MIL within Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Social Media 4 Peace, which is funded by the European Union, was first launched in 2021 in Indonesia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, and Kenya. The project’s work involves mapping legal tools developed by national authorities to tackle potentially harmful content. It also monitors the context of the dissemination of hateful content, as well as its root causes, intent, and effects on people and their behavior.
The project then works to establish national multi-stakeholder platforms, and drafts preliminary country-based assessments based on societal and political divides. It then drafts recommendations to make measures and tools addressing potentially harmful content more effective.
In December 2024, Peace News Network (PNN) published another article about promoting peace in Indonesian schools. In Poso regency, peace and interfaith programs have inspired many religious teachers to present an inclusive multicultural learning model in many schools. They are implementing religious learning, extracurricular activities, socio-religious activities, and humanitarian solidarity programs responsive to peace practices in Poso’s post-conflict environment. Most schools in the regency have conducted religious education that is oriented towards strengthening religious, national, and cultural values responsive to peacebuilding in schools.
Students are taught about the teachings of their religions, which include non-violence and respect for the teachings of other religions on the principle of human equality as God’s creatures and citizens of the nation. Religious teachers educate inclusive, tolerant, and peaceful dialogue in schools and the Poso community.
Keywords: Social media, tech, tech for peace, Indonesia, UNESCO, UN, conflict, conflict resolution, hate speech, religious intolerance
Tara Abhasakun
Tara Abhasakun is Peace News Network (PNN)'s managing editor. She is journalist based in Christchurch, New Zealand, and formerly in Bangkok, Thailand. She has reported on a range of human rights issues involving youth protests in Thailand, as well as arts and culture. Tara's work has appeared in several outlets, including Al Jazeera and South China Morning Post.
