From K-pop to ‘Top Gun,’ Indonesia&#x27s presidential hopefuls struggle it out with TikTok gimmicks

From K-pop to ‘Top Gun,’ Indonesia&#x27s presidential hopefuls struggle it out with TikTok gimmicks


Indonesia’s presidential election is thanks 14 February and candidates are going all out to acquire around voters in this nation of 274 million. With millennials and Gen Z voters making up 56.5% of the electorate campaigning is normally done on social media. Just one system in individual has emerged as vital, TikTok.

Sopa Pictures | Lightrocket | Getty Illustrations or photos

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s presidential hopefuls are pulling out all stops to acquire above voters on social media in advance of the Feb. 14 election.

In the country of 274 million, millennials and Gen Z voters make up 56.5% of the electorate — and campaigning on social media is heating up.

1 system in unique has emerged as a crucial battleground: TikTok.

“In 2019, it was the Instagram election. This time it truly is the TikTok election,” states Aryo Seno Bagaskoro, a youthful spokesperson for the presidential marketing campaign of Ganjar Pranowo, the former governor of Central Java.

With 125 million month-to-month active consumers, Indonesia is TikTok’s second biggest market, producing the system critical for Indonesians hoping to get information and updates about the election.

All three candidates have taken take note and are churning out youth-oriented written content on TikTok, with Protection Minister Prabowo Subianto dancing for the crowds, the previous governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan courting K-pop admirers, and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo advertising penguin-connected posts.

For Prabowo, the very clear frontrunner who’s polling in the mid-40s, the messaging on TikTok suits into the wider “gemoy,” or cute, graphic of his presidential marketing campaign.

The strategy is markedly various from the macho image adopted by 72-calendar year-old in the course of his previous runs for the presidency in 2014 and 2019.

Alternatively than videos of him arriving at rallies on the again of stallions and rousing crowds with nationalist speeches, the most well-known articles on TikTok has portrayed him as possessing a sensitive — even vulnerable — side.

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Just one of the most popular campaign posts on TikTok, with 49 million views, appeared to demonstrate Prabowo on the verge of tears soon after hard questioning in the 2nd presidential discussion. Many supporters of Prabowo, normally young gals, posted movies of by 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 in the mid-twenties, he is working neck-and-neck with Ganjar, and cultivating followers who ship issues right to him. Topics vary from his political software to information on to start with dates.

From K-pop to ‘Top Gun’

Anies has discovered unforeseen attractiveness between K-pop supporters, generally younger women of all ages, belying his past associations with conservative Islam.

One particular of his supporters is a 22-year-outdated female pupil who posts on social media system X about Anies and his marketing campaign working with Korean hangul captions. Considerably of the footage posted is taken from TikTok.

“He is the great healthy for K-popification,” the operator of the account explained to CNBC, asking not to be named for anxiety of backlash.

“When he did dwell TikTok, the history is like the kinds used by K-pop idols, it’s possible it was the curtain.”

The Anies marketing campaign and its official supporter teams have taken be aware, once in a while sending her photos or films they’d like her to endorse.

The Ganjar marketing campaign has gimmicks of its possess too, this kind of as “Leading Gun”-style jackets and penguin symbols. But, in accordance to his marketing campaign crew, they are most intrigued in videos of him interacting the natural way with voters on the floor to showcase his humble roots.

“TikTok has one of a kind traits. The algorithm values so much the authenticity and the originality of the video clips,” suggests Karaniya Dharmasaputra, deputy for media channels on the Ganjar campaign group. “On TikTok we desire an unpolished kind of video clip. Instagram, I consider values much more the polished written content.”

More mature politicians have experienced to embark on a crash training course for TikTok campaigning.

This photo taken on January 10, 2024 reveals a man recording a campaign video for social media to be applied by Ukon Furkon Sukanda, a legislative candidate of the Indonesian Democratic Occasion of Wrestle (PDI-P), in Tangerang, Banten province.

Bay Ismoyo | Afp | Getty Photographs

Ganjar’s running mate, Mahfud MD has taken a guide purpose here, copying Anies’ signature live broadcasts. But introducing the 66-year-outdated minister and previous main justice of the constitutional courtroom to the platform was challenging at initially.

“When we initially inspired Pak Mahfud to do a livestream, it was a little bit uncomfortable to be quite truthful,” reported Karaniya. “But he tailored incredibly swiftly.”

Faux news fears

With the ability of TikTok becoming very clear, anxieties about its likely for misuse have also grown.

Misinformation has been a big difficulty on social media in past Indonesian elections, with outright lies spreading widely boosted by bots and “buzzers,” persons utilized to churn out and advertise propaganda by just one team or yet another.

TikTok is now attempting to limit not only the unfold of misinformation, but also its position as a platform for political messages.

Compensated political advertising or fundraising by politicians and political parties is not permitted on the social media platform. The enterprise has also solid partnerships with governing administration bodies, neighborhood NGOs, and newswire company Agence-France Presse to overcome misinformation.

“The quick video clip structure used on TikTok suggests most of the misinformation we see circulating on the platform is made up of edited clips or footage shared out of context with a deceptive or untrue caption,” claimed a agent for AFP.

Some illustrations consist of clips doctored to make them show up like crowds at a Prabowo rally — who were in actuality his supporters — were being cheering on his opponents, a single professing that Anies had transformed to Christianity, and yet another of a primary journalist endorsing Prabowo.

In accordance to Mafindo, one of the NGOs performing with TikTok, between January and November previous 12 months, just 7.4% of the hoaxes they recorded and helped debunk ended up on TikTok.

“It’s on YouTube and Facebook that we discovered the most disinformation, but I feel TikTok is catching up. Meaning a good deal of hoaxes are now occurring on TikTok,” mentioned Septiaji Nugroho, chairperson of Mafindo.





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