Abstract
In transitional democratic countries with significant digital media user bases, the “authoritarian turn in digital media” has resulted in new forms of media control designed to counter critical media exposure. This article investigates the ongoing digital pressures experienced by Indonesian media organizations and investigative journalists by the partisan supporters of the country’s new authoritarian political leaders. This article provides a critical review of the forms of media control that have emerged in Indonesia within the past five years (2015–2020), giving special attention to the doxing allegedly faced by several news media and journalistic projects: IndonesiaLeaks; <em>Tempo </em>magazine; and WatchDoc. Applying qualitative methods (observation, semi-structured interviews, review of documents), this study finds that the rise of non-state and societal control over critical media leads to self-censorship amongst media and journalists. This study shows that online trolls, doxing, and hyper-partisan news outlets are used as new forms of media control. Control is also exerted by paid-social media buzzers, whose online identity is established by their use of digital and social media platforms to manipulate information and counter critical news regarding incumbent and oppositional political leaders. This article contributes to the academic debate on the intended forms of media control in digital politics of transitional democracies.
Highlights
In linking the rapid growth of social media platforms with democracy and press freedom, scholars have fallen into two categories
This article is driven by two research questions: What forms of media control have been used within Indonesia’s growing digital political propaganda (2015–2020), and how has digital violence been used against media organi‐ zations and journalists operating in Indonesia to control their news coverage? Using Indonesia’s digital politics as a backdrop, this article explores new patterns of media control based on the findings of a qualitative study con‐ ducted between 2019 and 2020
To answer its questions on the forms of media control and practice of digital violence against journal‐ ists and media organizations in Indonesia, this section explores the use of digital violence as a means of media control in the country’s digital politics (2015–2020)
Summary
In linking the rapid growth of social media platforms with democracy and press freedom, scholars have fallen into two categories. Social media platforms have been hailed as potential saviors of news production, allowing journalists to find new informants and data sources, thereby engaging directly with their preferences and interests (Hermida, 2011; Johansson, 2016). Internet platforms may relieve the press from its reporting obligations, leaving the press free to focus on investigative journalism projects (Anderson et al, 2012). Argue that these platforms —rather than allowing users to contribute informa‐. Rather than using social media as a tool of deliberative communication (Kangei, et al, 2018), paid‐social media users (popularly named buzzers) use free access online platforms to control news and use hate speech to degrade quality journalism
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