MAKASSAR – Over the past two days, a disinformation narrative has spread on social media about drop-out sanctions and threats of suspension against Unhas students who criticized the government’s priority program, the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG). The disinformation and hoaxes are circulating on various social media accounts. According to monitoring by the Unhas Public Relations Team, several “homeless media” accounts have been actively circulating the hoax.
The hoax began with a student demonstration at the Rectorate on Thursday, 11 June 2026. The protest was peaceful, although it was accompanied by minor acts (still within tolerable limits) that damaged campus facilities. Unhas, through its Head of Public Relations, received the students and responded to a number of criticisms and public questions.
After the protest, information began to circulate claiming that 28 Unhas students had been given drop-out sanctions and that others had received threats of suspension. Some parties twisted the facts and built a new narrative through a process of information spinning, in which unrelated facts are made to appear connected.
In fact, no drop-out or suspension sanctions have been imposed on students involved in the demonstration against MBG.
Unhas is not an institution that is against criticism. Unhas’s involvement in this priority program reflects the social responsibility of a university, based on the Impactful Campus (Kampus Berdampak) paradigm, and on academic and rational considerations. Numerous health studies at home and abroad show that nutrition interventions have a far greater impact on improving the quality of human resources than investment in educational infrastructure.
Unhas’s involvement in managing the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) is accompanied by a new approach. This step is an official, open policy that can be subject to criticism. We hope that constructive criticism will open space for continuous improvement.
Observing the development of the narrative on social media on Saturday (13 June), we urge those who deliberately spread hoaxes and slander on social media about drop-out sanctions for students who criticize MBG to stop immediately. These hoaxes and slander have the potential to harm Unhas’s institutional reputation, affecting thousands of members of the academic community and other related entities.
Editor : Ishaq Rahman
This article is an English translation of the original Indonesian report.