Analyst: Negative Content Attacking President Prabowo's Person Does Not Represent Public View
The Executive Director of Indeks Data Nasional, Ayip Tayana, has lamented the rise of negative content attacking President Prabowo Subianto personally. He argued that whilst freedom of expression is guaranteed in a democracy, criticism should not devolve into personal insults.
He cited the example of the term Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) being attached to President Prabowo, stating that this is not criticism but rather a personal affront. “This nation must be able to distinguish between criticism and insult. Calling the President NPD is not criticism. The President must be criticised, but using language like NPD is not criticism in my view,” he said in an official statement on Monday (20/7).
Ayip assessed that personal attacks which degrade a person’s dignity are not part of freedom of speech. He argued that criticism should target a president’s policies or actions, not merely fuel public anger. “There is no argumentation, no responsibility; it is used solely to ignite emotions and anger, and that is its only purpose,” he explained.
The problem, according to Ayip, is that such content often receives high engagement in society and is mistakenly seen as representing public views. He stressed that this perception must be corrected amidst the rapid flow of information driven by social media and artificial intelligence. “In Indonesia, content with a negative or emotional tone attacking certain political groups tends to gain high engagement. This should not be allowed to drag on, because democracy requires freedom of speech, but also maturity and responsibility,” he said.
Ayip noted that whilst this phenomenon is rife on social media, it does not represent the overall views of the public. He pointed to President Prabowo’s strong electoral legitimacy, having won with approximately 58 percent of the vote in a single round against two other candidates. Furthermore, he cited a recent Poltracking survey indicating that 74.2 percent of the public trust President Prabowo’s administration and 72.2 percent are satisfied with the government’s performance. “This means that various survey results can serve as indicators that public support and trust in President Prabowo’s government remain at a majority level,” he stated.
Nevertheless, Ayip highlighted that high satisfaction levels do not mean everyone is satisfied with all government policies. He noted that dissatisfaction with certain aspects certainly exists and should be used as evaluation material for the government. “This high satisfaction figure should be appreciated, but findings of dissatisfaction in specific sectors must also be used as evaluation material by the government,” he concluded.