How People Misuse Social Media: Learning from the 2019 Indonesia’s Presidential Election

*The media is neutral since it is only a platform to spread messages publicly. However, things may come out of hand when it is not monitored and controlled.* ***Picture: Unsplash***

Introduction

The media can be one's biggest supporter and enemy. Media may support one's viewpoints towards the world, but it can sometimes counter them. The media is neutral since it is only a platform to spread messages publicly. How easy it is for people to share perspectives on particular topics through mediated communications is astounding. However, things may come out of hand when it is not monitored and controlled. People might misuse the media to spread hatred and misinformation that can intimidate and terrorise certain groups. Contextually, with Indonesia's presidential election just around the corner, people can be political to publish hateful propaganda to the audience, as happened in the 2019 election. Therefore, this essay elaborates on the issue of how people misuse social media by discussing hate speeches through social media during the 2019 Indonesia Presidential Election and how TikTok has the potential to be a political platform for the upcoming 2024 election.

Indonesia will be organising its presidential election in 2024. This phenomenon has led many political parties to speak up more, lobby the population, support the candidates, perform political campaigns, and more. Moreover, in this era, it is easier and more accessible to show support for candidates by publicising through social media. However, some campaigns from particular political parties misused social media, as performed in the 2019 presidential election. Instead of showing support and lobbying people why they should vote for this candidate, they would spread hoaxes and hatred to influence public opinion. This can be a significant problem which may lead to future ordeal events. For example, Kemenkoinfo's Head of Public Relations, Ferdinandus, stated that in late December 2018, there had been 75 contents of hoaxes, and it kept increasing until February 2019 to 453 hoaxes – 130 hoaxes of which were political. (Jatmiko, 2019)

Discussion

First of all, let us discuss speeches. Historically, speeches have been accorded pride of place amongst personal liberties. (Gelber, 2002, p. 2) Therefore, people can express their opinions freely. In fact, according to Tanvir (2021), freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental human right, and it should be respected and protected.

Additionally, expressing one's opinion is deliberated as a measure of society's democratic capacity and institutional commitment to democracy. According to another research, Scanlon (2011) stated that freedom of speech occurs when one has the moral right to express, which generates negative correlative duties to others and correspondingly positive duties for the states to protect the possibilities of threats towards the speakers. (Howard, 2019) Nevertheless, others should not refrain from expressing their viewpoint.

As a democratic country – Indonesia – the prevalence of free speech may embrace the disparity of perceptions. The expression of opinions generally occurs when the government fails to satisfy the public or specific groups, promoting diversity. As a result, other agents may learn to accept, tolerate, and criticise other viewpoints, which also works for the speaker. (Karo, 2022). With that said, there are also regulations to monitor free speech so that it does not portray hate to one another.

If a speech has offended particular groups, it can be perceived as hate speech. In other circumstances, freedom of expression can be abused, which may hurt other individuals or specific groups – their out-group per se. It may pertain to race, religion, sex, disability, sexual orientation, and more. (Tanvir, 2021) According to the United Nations (UN), a speech is considered hate speech when communication revolves around prejudice and discrimination with pejorative language to refer to a specific group. Despite that, the UN stated that there is no universally accepted definition of hate speech, primarily that this is related to free speech; thus, there is still an ongoing discussion.

Another malicious act in cyberspace is spreading misinformation. Misinformation is false information that is dangerous and influential, especially towards illiterate societies. According to research led by Utami (2018), the emergence of misinformation intensified from 2016 to 2017, considering that it was the governmental election. One of the primary examples of misinformation is Ahok's candidacy, where one of the opponent's supporters edited a clip of him giving a speech; wherein the edited part offended numerous Indonesian Muslims. The clip was spread to multiple media, attacking Ahok's reputation.

The UN also mentioned that hate speech is done mainly by the majority groups to humiliate other groups that are inferior to them. Therefore, we can correlate this with Noelle's Spiral of Silence Theory. The Spiral of Silence theory suggests that individuals are more likely to voice their opinions as a majority. The media also play a role in this theory, for it only portrays the majority views. As a result, individuals who hold minority voices are more likely to stay quiet. This theory also involves how the media shapes public opinion and vice versa. However, the minority who speak up, despite having fewer voices, are considered vocal minorities. They can still share their insights and viewpoints towards a particular issue. Therefore, free speech is relevant to this theory. (West & Turner, 2010, p. 412-420)

The social media industry roots back to the early invention of the Internet. As time evolves, technology is more advanced as well. Social media platforms that are dominating in this era are as follows: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and more. Social media allows worldwide connectivity which shapes various lives. However, despite its benign impact, there are drawbacks – including misinformation, addiction, hatred, and more.

Further, in this digital era, based on DataReportal, 167 million internet users out of 276.4 million people in Indonesia were recorded in January 2023, significantly 60.4% of the population. This data proves that most of the Indonesian demographic is familiar with social media and the Internet. According to a statistics report by Statista, there has been an increase in social media users in Indonesia from 2019 to 2023.

There are formal and informal controls when we discuss publishing posts through social media. Formal controls are the written laws, such as Undang-Undang and Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika. For instance, an article written in 2018 mentioned three criteria to take down a post: (1) hatred against religions; (2) persuasion to hate particular religious groups; (3) persuasion to hate particular racial groups. There are informal controls as well – including internal and external factors. Informal controls are akin to the codes of conduct that are socially constructed, such as the prohibition of mentioning suku, agama, ras, and antargolongan (SARA). For example, internal control includes the in-group's ethics, self-regulation, and self-expectations, whereas external control includes pressuring out-groups, norms, press councils, and education.

During the previous presidential election in 2019, numerous hate speeches and misinformation roamed social media, mainly through Twitter. According to Kementrian Komunikasi dan Informatika Republik Indonesia, the election syndicator, Erik Kurniawan, stated that the prevalence of hate speech through social media – and other types of media – can hinder the conduciveness of the presidential election. Erik added that there had been mutual hatred amongst voters from opposing parties, even some from the in-groups, caused by the hate speeches. Furthermore, based on research, during the period of the 2019 presidential election, there was an abundance of hate speeches on Twitter. Precisely, there was a trend, using hashtags: '#2019GantiPresiden' and '#2019TetapJokowi'.

Regarding the Twitter tags, data showed that most tweets were filled with hatred, followed by libel, blasphemy, provoking comments, and more. For example, both tags – '#2019GantiPresiden' and '#2019TetapJokowi' – are filled with hateful comments that may disregard one another's party, which are tremendously disrespectful. Some comments even brought up the candidate's religion, mocking how the candidate practised the religion and belief. This led the writer to believe people misused free speech to express their hateful opinions, aversions, and hoaxes. Therefore, it causes adverse effects, such as threatening Indonesia's national defence and sovereignty (Setiawandari, 2021), increasing intimidation from one group to another – referring to the spiral of silence theory – and triggering mass disarray, which can affect Indonesia's unity.

Furthermore, according to a news article by Jalli, TikTok is highly popular in South-East Asia and has shown potential to be a platform for political activism. Moreover, Indonesia is home to TikTok's second-largest audience worldwide. Researchers studied that TikTok plays a role in spreading hate speeches and misinformation in Indonesia. With Indonesia's presidential election just around the corner, many parties publish propaganda through TikTok to sway opinions. The propaganda, however, is controversial and is filled with hoaxes and hatred – mostly ethnoreligious propaganda. One of the examples is the video posted by @logikapolitik on 12 January 2023, stating that giving a baptismal name is more sinful and blasphemous than eating pork. This led to chaotic arguments between two religious groups: Islam and Christianity.

After gathering multiple data, the writer thought about how people misuse social media to express hatred, provoke society, and draw attention to conflicts. With the upcoming election, there is no guarantee of peace in social media – especially TikTok, which has major potential to be a political platform. If I correlate this to the spiral of silence theory, there are majority and vocal minority groups who may speak up for political activism. However, the phenomenon portrays how two parties – no matter the majority or the minority – mutually express hatred through the mass media. Therefore, it creates an interminable loop of mutual hate. Furthermore, this mutual hate may be more dangerous due to opposing groups fighting, leading to an immense mayhem.

Conclusion

Although there have been formal controls to eradicate hate speech, people still overlook the regulations and laws. Moreover, spreading misinformation is also the cause of the ordeal conflicts in social media. Therefore, there are some suggestions that may overcome this issue and lessons the country can take from the 2019 presidential election. Firstly, strengthening regulations and enforcement is evident. Secondly, promoting media literacy among the population is essential to think critically and not be easily influenced by misinformation. Third, encourage the public to be responsible in cyberspace with respectful dialogue, create guidelines, and discourage hate speech. Finally, perhaps building alliances among government bodies, media outlets, social media platforms, and civil society organisations could be an option to develop strategic mass communication. By implementing these solutions and learning from the 2019 presidential election, there is a better chance of minimising the negative impact of hate speech and misinformation on social media for the upcoming election in 2024.

References

Books

Dominick, J. R. (2012). Dynamics of Mass Communication: Media in Transition (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Gelber, K. (2002). Speaking Back: The free speech versus hate speech debate. John Benjamins Publishing Company. https://books.google.co.id/books?hl=en&lr=&id=HcQ9AAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=free+speech+versus+hate+speech&ots=MpYy305RXj&sig=KHI3D-cuyHP7u11a7cBihKXKcSo&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

West, R., & Turner, L. (2010). Introducing Communications Theory Analysis and Application (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Journal Articles

Howard, J. (2019, May). Free Speech and Hate Speech. Annual Review of Political Science, 22, 93-109. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051517-012343

Nurul, A., Nurhadi, & Pranawa, S. (2020, April 30). Conflict and Hate Speech on Twitter (A Study About Hashtag #2019TetapJokowi and #2019GantiPresiden Within January-February 2019). Jurnal Pendidikan Ilmu-ilmu Sosial, 12(1), 132-142. https://doi.org/10.24114/jupiis.v12i1.16083

Setiawandari, H., & Munandar, A. (2021, January 1). Hate Speech In 2019 Presidential Election: Case Study of Youth Organizations. Journal of Strategic and Global Studies, 4(1), 42-54. https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/jsgs/vol4/iss1/10/

Utami, P. (2018, November). Hoax in Modern Politics: The Meaning of Hoax in Indonesian Politics and Democracy. Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, 22(2), 85-97. 10.22146/jsp.34614

News Articles

Jalli, N. (2021, February 24). How TikTok can be the new platform for political activism: lessons from Southeast Asia. The Conversation. Retrieved May 27, 2023, from https://theconversation.com/how-tiktok-can-be-the-new-platform-for-political-activism-lessons-from-southeast-asia-155556

Jalli, N. (2023, April 10). TikTok's poor content moderation fuels the spread of hate speech and misinformation ahead of Indonesia 2024 elections. The Conversation. Retrieved May 30, 2023, from https://theconversation.com/tiktoks-poor-content-moderation-fuels-the-spread-of-hate-speech-and-misinformation-ahead-of-indonesia-2024-elections-202439

Jatmiko, L. D. (2019, March 25). Jelang Pemilu 2019, Hoaks dan Ujaran Kebencian Meningkat. Kabar24. Retrieved May 30, 2023, from https://kabar24.bisnis.com/read/20190401/15/906705/jelang-pemilu-2019-hoaks-dan-ujaran-kebencian-meningkat

Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika. (2021, April 26). Sejak 2018, Kominfo Tangani 3.640 Ujaran Kebencian Berbasis SARA di Ruang Digital. Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika. Retrieved May 30, 2023, from https://www.kominfo.go.id/content/detail/34136/siaran-pers-no-143hmkominfo042021-tentang-sejak-2018-kominfo-tangani-3640-ujaran-kebencian-berbasis-sara-di-ruang-digital/0/siaran_pers

Tanvir, S. (2021, December 31). Hate Speech vs Free Speech: The Ongoing Debate and Challenges in the Globalized World. SSRN. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3997924

Miscellaneous

Degenhard, J. (2023, March 21). Social media users in Indonesia 2019-2028. Statista. Retrieved May 28, 2023, from https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1144743/social-media-users-in-indonesia

Karo, R. (2022, December 30). Hate Speech: Penyimpangan Terhadap UU ITE, Kebebasan Berpendapat dan Nilai-Nilai Keadilan Bermartabat. Jurnal Lemhannas RI, 10(4), 52-65. https://doi.org/10.55960/jlri.v10i4.370

Kemp, S. (2023, February 9). Digital 2023: Indonesia. DataReportal. Retrieved May 27, 2023, from https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2023-indonesia

Rochmi, M. N. (2019, March 4). Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika. Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika. Retrieved May 30, 2023, from https://m.kominfo.go.id/content/detail/16859/ujaran-kebencian-dan-politik-uang-jadi-ancaman-terbesar-pemilu/0/sorotan_media

United Nations. (n.d.). What is hate speech? Hate Speech. Retrieved May 26, 2023, from https://www.un.org/en/hate-speech/understanding-hate-speech/what-is-hate-speech?gclid=CjwKCAjwscGjBhAXEiwAswQqNMhOs3JC0ImBy2-NWpExjJ1_Cb3lDSPq9Hjq53HC4DT2UyuEUyqjbBoCbSkQAvD_BwE

United Nations. (2021). Targets of hate. Hate Speech. Retrieved May 26, 2023, from https://www.un.org/en/hate-speech/impact-and-prevention/targets-of-hate