Bawaslu: Politicization of Identity and Hate Speech Begins to Spread on Social Media

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The chairman of the Indonesian Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) Rahmat Bagja said content related to identity politics, disinformation and hate speech has started to appear on social media, even though the 2024 Election campaign stage has not yet started. Such content is believed to jeopardize the integrity and success of elections.

Bagja explained, the spread of content related to identity politics, disinformation and hate speech on social media actually started massively during the 2017 DKI Pilkada. The spread of content with these three aspects continued and returned massively during the 2019 Election.

“(During the 2019 election), there was even a tendency to pit TNI and Polri friends at that point,” said Bagja at the Discussion Group on the Formulation of Non-Military Threats Between Ministries/Agencies in Jakarta, quoted Friday (30/6/2023).

Bagja admits that content with these three damaging aspects has started to emerge at this time. Similar to the 2017 DKI Pilkada which was colored by content that showed hostility towards certain races, now such uploads are re-emerging.

“Now if we look at it, now it has appeared again on social media and hate speech has also appeared. Now it has started, attacking several election participants. Several times we read Twitter, although later we read the language is still quite soft, but it has started to attack political opponents ,” said Bagja.

Bagja explained that the politicization of identity in Indonesia is related to issues of ethnicity, ideology, beliefs, as well as local interests represented by the elite through their political articulations. Meanwhile, disinformation refers to the dissemination of false, misleading, or intentional information to deceive or influence public opinion.

Hate speech is a statement or content that strengthens sentiments or attitudes of hostility, hatred, or discrimination against individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other specific characteristics.

According to Bagja, these three aspects are very likely to combine and spread more massively on social media during the 2024 Election campaign period. According to him, this could make people uncomfortable participating in the 2024 Election.

As an effort to anticipate and take action, Bagja stated that Bawaslu had prepared several strategies. Some of these include strengthening regulations and laws related to increasing the capacity of supervisory human resources, law enforcement and sanctions, education and socialization campaigns, and cooperation in the digital space.

Bawaslu, he continued, has also made an Election Vulnerability Index (IKP). “In the context of IKP, Bawaslu conducts an assessment of various matters related to what could then become a critical point for elections, especially those related to socio-political issues,” he said.