Politicians and Celebrities: Propagators of Hate Speech in Indonesia

Abstract

The advancement of technology provides the community with a new means of expression. One of them is social media, which is frequently used to express opinions on topics such as politics, health, and religion. However, the characteristics of social media that allow for equality without a "gatekeeper" result in the frequent misuse of this medium. For instance, a group uses social media to spread false information, propaganda, and other forms of hate speech. Intentionally or unintentionally, the general public frequently engages in hate speech through social media. In fact, these statements frequently result in legal proceedings. Different definitions of hate speech exist, but one definition identifies four characteristics: all forms of communication based on hatred of certain ethnic groups or groups intending to discriminate. Hate speech are one of negative activities happening in social media with or without purpose. This paper describes how hate speech in perspective of Indonesian netizens and to determine how the public views hate speech.  The research is conducted by using survey with 846 sample in 13 provinces in Indonesia during September 2021. The result was Netizen in Indonesia see that Politicians, public figures, and celebrities are often found as propagators of hate speech. According to the study, people perceive humiliation, bullying, discrimination, and defamation as forms of hate speech. Most respondents indicated that hate speech contains harsh language and derogatory terms. In addition, respondents indicated that political and religious topics frequently appear in hate speech. On Instagram and Facebook, hate speech is the most prevalent. Respondents who encountered or experienced hate speech responded in various ways, including remaining silent, blocking accounts, reprimanding politely, notifying authorities, etc. Respondents believed that civil society performed better than the government in combating hate speech. They also agreed that hate speech perpetrators would be prosecuted under the Information and Electronic Transactions Act. With this findings, in political years ahead, Indonesia will heading a serious threat in democracy.