As the 2024 general election approaches, potential presidential candidates actively campaign on their social media accounts.
This phenomenon is significantly linked to the public’s use of digital media to assess political candidates and their parties. Every potential presidential candidate appears to have a distinct digital media narrative.
In light of this, the Center for Digital Society (CfDS) at the UGM Faculty of Social and Political Sciences conducted a study of the social media activity on X (referred to as “media X”) and Instagram by three potential presidential candidates over the past ten years.
The study was released on October 18.
“This research was motivated by our observation of changing political dynamics over the past ten years. Key figures have often been associated with different political groups or have shifted between them. This dynamic has been evident from 2014 to 2023,” said Iradat Wirid, Deputy Executive Secretary of CfDS.
“We chose to study social media because, according to the latest reports, there are 167 million active social media users in Indonesia. The research is also presented after the debate between the three presidential candidates at UGM, which drew various reactions from the public.”
Based on the analysis of media X, two potential presidential candidates, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo, have shown high activity levels.
Since 2014, the @AniesBaswedan account has tweeted 4,700 times, averaging 1.1 daily. Meanwhile, the @GanjarPranowo account has tweeted 86,301 times, averaging 24.1 daily.
In contrast, the @PrabowoSubianto account has decreased activity, with 2,543 tweets and an average of 0.7 tweets daily. This indicates differences in the media priorities of the three potential presidential candidates.
“Prabowo Subianto, during his tenure as Minister of Defense and in the lead-up to his presidential candidacy, stopped using X to build a narrative. His narratives tended to be linked to his political party and were rarely used for personal purposes,” said Wirid.
“In contrast, Ganjar Pranowo often posts citizens’ grievances, particularly in Central Java, using light language. Anies Baswedan primarily uses X to create long narratives. He begins with a story and background and then presents the key points he wants to convey.”
Additionally, on media X and Instagram, the three potential presidential candidates have posted content with various Islamic figures or religious elements. This strategy aims to reach specific target groups, especially religious communities.
Ganjar Pranowo frequently highlights his closeness to his family, groups of mothers, and religious figures. Anies Baswedan emphasizes his intellectual image, involvement with specific professional communities, and party-related content. Prabowo Subianto consistently showcases meetings with national and international figures and uses specific local languages.
“Every day, they ensure there is something to post to maintain their image. However, their vision and mission are not yet clearly visible in the accounts of the three potential presidential candidates. There is no interaction related to that,” said Wirid.
“Our recommendation is to emphasize educating voters with an issue-based approach rather than focusing solely on building an image. There will certainly be differences when they officially become presidential candidates. We will see how the dynamics play out.”
Author: Tasya