Strengthening Information Sovereignty through the Government Communication Agency

No matter what, long-term erosion of trust can paralyse the effectiveness of public policy. Jakarta (ANTARA) - By April 2026, the challenges of government communication are no longer merely about delivering information, but have shifted to issues of national cognitive sovereignty. Amid global geopolitical fragmentation, information now functions not only as a means of public education but also as an instrument of power, on par with the economic and military sectors. In this context, strengthening the Government Communication Agency (BAKOM RI) should be seen as an effort to enhance the state’s authority in cyberspace. This strategic step is crucial amid the escalation of sophisticated and well-conceived asymmetric information warfare. The placement of Muhammad Qodari as Head of BAKOM RI and the retention of Angga Raka Prabowo at the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) is considered by many as a move to strengthen the communication system in order to make government information sovereignty more robust. Credible public narrative. Without a credible narrative, the state risks losing control over public perception, both domestically and globally. Public communication expert Manuel Castells, through his Network Society theory, emphasises that state power lies in controlling communication networks. If the government fails to manage the development narrative, the state will be isolated from world affairs. However, the main issue is not just who controls the narrative, but how much the public trusts that narrative. In many cases, government communication crises arise not from a lack of messages, but from low trust. Therefore, the reorganisation of the roles of BAKOM RI and the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) needs to be directed at addressing this issue. Not only ensuring messages are delivered, but also ensuring those messages are data-based, consistent, and open to criticism. The effectiveness of public communication is highly determined by the strength of the system, namely inter-agency coordination, response speed, and the quality of data delivered. Without that, government communication can easily become trapped in one-way dissemination that loses relevance in an increasingly critical public space. Political power greatly depends on the state’s ability to manage public perception appropriately. Facing this complex reality, President Prabowo Subianto has taken strategic steps, strengthening the composition of the central communication team by giving a central role to BAKOM RI.