Gramsci's Theory of Hegemony and the Buzzer Phenomenon

Social media has now transformed into a dynamic battleground for political influence, which is simultaneously absurd. Whenever the government releases a complex policy perceived as burdensome to the public, the comment sections no longer serve as a space for critical discourse. Instead, the digital sphere presents a strange theatre where the economically disadvantaged, who are protesting injustice, are attacked and bullied by fellow lower-class citizens. This phenomenon of mass rejection of reality raises a fundamental sociological question: why do groups that are victims of a policy actively defend the very system that oppresses them?

This mass psychology phenomenon can be sharply dissected through the lens of Antonio Gramsci’s Theory of Hegemony. In the Gramscian perspective, the ruling class no longer relies solely on physical force and repressive apparatus to dominate the public sphere. Physical repression is typically reserved as a last resort when the consciousness of the masses fails to be tamed. Before protests erupt on the streets, the ruling class operates in the digital realm to subtly and latently subjugate public consciousness. They control the way society thinks to such an extent that the public accepts economic oppression or elitist policies as a new form of common sense that must be supported for the sake of national stability. The people experience a blurring of reasoning, making them feel they are being logical, while in reality, they are tightening the chains that bind their own necks.

In the contemporary era, the role of organic intellectuals—tasked with polishing the ruling ideology so it is accepted by the masses—has mutated into the phenomenon of cyber troops, commonly known as buzzers. A study of political sociology by Agustin (2025) states that the domestic digital space has lost its neutrality due to the commodification of public opinion. Interestingly, this opinion-shaping industry cruelly exploits the lower classes themselves. At the grassroots level, these networks are divided into two groups: those who are purely fanatical in defending the government because their consciousness has been distorted, and those who are forced to sell their thumbs for petty cash—valued at only a few hundred or thousand rupiah per comment—just to survive. This combination of blind fanaticism and economic exploitation creates the illusion that support for elitist policies is organic.

This unequal industrial structure systematically amputates public reasoning through technological manipulation. According to Kurniawan (2026), opinion formation is conducted through echo chamber mechanisms to domesticate the critical thinking of ordinary citizens. Buzzer networks simplify complex policy issues using casual, persuasive, and emotional communication styles. When these manipulative narratives are continuously spewed and latently amplified by algorithms, the critical reasoning of netizens suffers mass paralysis. As a result, lower-class groups—whether driven by cheap payments or pure ignorance—swallow this information whole, feel self-righteous, and march into social media warfare to defend the system that oppresses them.

As a final reflection, facing the challenge of this digital circus cannot rely solely on strict regulations from authorities. It must involve a deconstruction of thinking from the grassroots level. The primary solution lies in strengthening public digital political literacy based on data, not merely emotional sentiment. The public must be trained to assess the motives behind a narrative and independently break down their own echo chambers. If this critical sharpness is not cultivated soon, the digital ecosystem will forever remain a perfect circus stage where fellow lower-class citizens are busy brawling on the front lines, whether ordered by cheap paid agencies or because their common sense has been voluntarily colonised. Meanwhile, in their comfortable private spaces, the ruling elites sit back and watch this horizontal conflict on a big screen, enjoying their untouched, stable power.