Indonesia’s presidential election is due 14 February and candidates are going all out to win over voters on this nation of 274 million. With millennials and Gen Z voters making up 56.5% of the citizens campaigning is commonly achieved on social media. One platform particularly has emerged as key, TikTok.
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JAKARTA — Indonesia’s presidential hopefuls are pulling out all stops to win over voters on social media forward of the Feb. 14 election.
Within the nation of 274 million, millennials and Gen Z voters make up 56.5% of the electorate — and campaigning on social media is heating up.
One platform particularly has emerged as a key battleground: TikTok.
“In 2019, it was the Instagram election. This time it’s the TikTok election,” says Aryo Seno Bagaskoro, a younger spokesperson for the presidential marketing campaign of Ganjar Pranowo, the previous governor of Central Java.
With 125 million monthly active users, Indonesia is TikTok’s second largest market, making the platform key for Indonesians making an attempt to get information and updates in regards to the election.
All three candidates have taken word and are churning out youth-oriented content material on TikTok, with Protection Minister Prabowo Subianto dancing for the crowds, the previous governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan courting Okay-pop followers, and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo selling penguin-related posts.
For Prabowo, the clear frontrunner who’s polling within the mid-40s, the messaging on TikTok suits into the broader “gemoy,” or cute, picture of his presidential marketing campaign.
The strategy is markedly completely different from the macho picture adopted by 72-year-old throughout his earlier runs for the presidency in 2014 and 2019.
Fairly than movies of him arriving at rallies on the back of stallions and rousing crowds with nationalist speeches, the preferred content material on TikTok has portrayed him as having a delicate — even susceptible — facet.
Some of the standard marketing campaign posts on TikTok, with 49 million views, appeared to point out Prabowo on the verge of tears after robust questioning within the second presidential debate. Many supporters of Prabowo, typically younger girls, posted movies of themselves weeping in solidarity and alleging that Prabowo was a sufferer of bias.
Anies’ signature has been reside broadcasts on TikTok dubbed locally as “Desak Anies,” or “Interrogate Anies.”
Polling within the mid-twenties, he’s operating neck-and-neck with Ganjar, and cultivating followers who ship questions on to him. Subjects range from his political program to recommendation on first dates.
From Okay-pop to ‘High Gun’
Anies has discovered surprising recognition amongst Okay-pop followers, primarily younger girls, belying his previous associations with conservative Islam.
Considered one of his supporters is a 22-year-old feminine scholar who posts on social media platform X about Anies and his marketing campaign utilizing Korean hangul captions. A lot of the footage posted is taken from TikTok.
“He is the perfect fit for K-popification,” the proprietor of the account instructed CNBC, asking to not be named for worry of backlash.
“When he did live TikTok, the background is like the ones used by K-pop idols, maybe it was the curtain.”
The Anies marketing campaign and its official supporter teams have taken word, often sending her images or movies they’d like her to advertise.
The Ganjar marketing campaign has gimmicks of its personal too, resembling “Top Gun”-style jackets and penguin symbols. However, in line with his marketing campaign crew, they’re most desirous about movies of him interacting naturally with voters on the bottom to showcase his humble roots.
“TikTok has unique characteristics. The algorithm values so much the authenticity and the originality of the videos,” says Karaniya Dharmasaputra, deputy for media channels on the Ganjar marketing campaign crew. “On TikTok we prefer an unpolished kind of video. Instagram, I think values more the polished content.”
Older politicians have needed to embark on a crash course for TikTok campaigning.
Ganjar’s operating mate, Mahfud MD has taken a lead role right here, copying Anies’ signature reside broadcasts. However introducing the 66-year-old minister and former chief justice of the constitutional courtroom to the platform was tough at first.
“When we first encouraged Pak Mahfud to do a livestream, it was a bit awkward to be very honest,” stated Karaniya. “But he adapted very quickly.”
Faux information fears
With the ability of TikTok changing into clear, worries about its potential for misuse have additionally grown.
Misinformation has been a serious subject on social media in previous Indonesian elections, with outright lies spreading broadly boosted by bots and “buzzers,” individuals employed to churn out and promote propaganda by one group or one other.
TikTok is now making an attempt to restrict not solely the spread of misinformation, but in addition its position as a platform for political messages.
Paid political promoting or fundraising by politicians and political events just isn’t allowed on the social media platform. The corporate has additionally forged partnerships with authorities our bodies, native NGOs, and newswire company Agence-France Presse to fight misinformation.
“The short video format used on TikTok means most of the misinformation we see circulating on the platform consists of edited clips or footage shared out of context with a misleading or false caption,” stated a consultant for AFP.
Some examples embrace clips doctored to make them appear as if crowds at a Prabowo rally — who had been in actual fact his supporters — were cheering on his opponents, one claiming that Anies had converted to Christianity, and one other of a number one journalist endorsing Prabowo.
In keeping with Mafindo, one of many NGOs working with TikTok, between January and November final 12 months, simply 7.4% of the hoaxes they recorded and helped debunk had been on TikTok.
“It’s on YouTube and Facebook that we found the most disinformation, but I think TikTok is catching up. Meaning a lot of hoaxes are now happening on TikTok,” stated Septiaji Nugroho, chairperson of Mafindo.
