When Emotion Outpaces Verification: Why Residents Readily Believe Pocong Terror

KOMPAS.com – The pocong terror that recently unsettled residents of Ciputat, South Tangerang, is not the first time a mystical issue has surfaced in society. Similar terror incidents have occurred repeatedly.

Ironically, even though repeatedly proven untrue, the public remains easily convinced by such issues.

Sociologist Rakhmat Hidayat assesses that society today tends to react more quickly to information that triggers emotions than to verify facts.

“In the digital era, society tends to react more quickly than verify,” said Rakhmat when contacted by Kompas.com via WhatsApp, on Friday (22/5/2026).

According to him, rumours about pocong or other mystical terror often develop not because the facts are clear, but because they are reinforced together through social media and public conversations.

In sociology, this condition is called “social amplification” — a process whereby information that is small or unclear grows because it is continuously talked about, recorded, shared on social media, and added to by the public.

“A piece of information that is actually small or unclear but grows because it is talked about, recorded, and shared on social media,” he said.

According to Rakhmat, rumours are easier to believe because they operate through emotion, not logic.

“From a sociological viewpoint, society is often duped because rumours operate through emotion, not logic,” he said.

He cites a quiet night atmosphere, reinforced by chain WhatsApp messages and videos with a menacing tone, making people more prone to moral panic.

“In such conditions, people tend to follow the group’s reaction rather than check facts rationally,” he continued.

According to him, short videos with dark atmospheres, residents’ screams, or frightening narratives are more easily viral because they trigger emotional responses from social media users.

“Short videos that present a dark atmosphere, residents’ screams, or frightening narratives go viral more easily because they trigger emotions,” he said.