3 - The Political Campaign Industry and the Rise of Disinformation in Indonesia

Summary

Disinformation production has become a prominent fixture in recent electoral campaigns in Indonesia, leading to fears of “divisive” political discourse that affect not only online debates, but also have real-life consequences for violence (Heriyanto 2019). Social media platforms are often blamed both for the spread of disinformation and for “polarizing” the nation. This article argues that social media disinformation is an extension of the expanding political campaign industry, whose significance increased, and is being used by political elites to maintain their power. The rise of disinformation via social media is new, but is part of a long history of engineering consent and manipulation by elite political and economy forces in the country.

My research in Indonesia has shown that the production of disinformation via social media campaign teams could be observed since as early as the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election, an election which saw the victory for Joko Widodo (hereafter Jokowi), who would become Indonesia's president two years later. The 2012 election witnessed for the first time the extensive and professional use of social media campaigning, although much of this activity went unnoticed by scholars and the mainstream media. The industry continued to develop in the 2014 Indonesian presidential election, grew substantially in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election, and grew even more in the 2019 presidential election. During these elections, social media was increasingly used for disinformation production, pitting supporters of candidates against each other. It was driven by the emergence of increasing campaign funds directed towards social media management, production and manipulation of social media discourse.

This chapter will examine the political-economic context which allowed for the growth of disinformation production in Indonesia. It will begin by examining the early use of social media campaigning, examine a “tipping point”, and identify the growing players behind the disinformation production in the social media sphere. In doing so, it highlights a Gramscian argument that the power holders control the masses (particularly in democracy) through committing repression but also by gaining their consent.

EARLY USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN INDONESIA

Social media engagement in Indonesia began positively for reformists, and was largely seen as activities considered to be supportive of democracy.