JAKARTA — Indonesia’s presidential hopefuls are pulling out all stops to win over voters on social media forward of the Feb. 14 election.

Within the nation of 274 million, millennials and Gen Z voters make up 56.5% of the voters — and campaigning on social media is heating up.

One platform specifically has emerged as a key battleground: TikTok.

“In 2019, it was the Instagram election. This time it is the TikTok election,” says Aryo Seno Bagaskoro, a younger spokesperson for the presidential marketing campaign of Ganjar Pranowo, the previous governor of Central Java.

With 125 million month-to-month lively customers, Indonesia is TikTok’s second greatest market, making the platform key for Indonesians making an attempt to get information and updates in regards to the election.

All three candidates have taken observe and are churning out youth-oriented content material on TikTok, with Protection Minister Prabowo Subianto dancing for the crowds, the previous governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan courting Ok-pop followers, and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo selling penguin-related posts.

For Prabowo, the clear frontrunner who’s polling within the mid-40s, the messaging on TikTok suits into the broader “gemoy,” or cute, picture of his presidential marketing campaign.

The strategy is markedly completely different from the macho picture adopted by 72-year-old throughout his earlier runs for the presidency in 2014 and 2019.

Reasonably than movies of him arriving at rallies on the again of stallions and rousing crowds with nationalist speeches, the preferred content material on TikTok has portrayed him as having a delicate — even weak — facet.

One of the crucial fashionable marketing campaign posts on TikTok, with 49 million views, appeared to indicate Prabowo on the verge of tears after robust questioning within the second presidential debate. Many supporters of Prabowo, typically younger girls, posted movies of themselves weeping in solidarity and alleging that Prabowo was a sufferer of bias.

Anies’ signature has been dwell broadcasts on TikTok dubbed domestically as “Desak Anies,” or “Interrogate Anies.”

Polling within the mid-twenties, he’s operating neck-and-neck with Ganjar, and cultivating followers who ship questions on to him. Subjects fluctuate from his political program to recommendation on first dates.

Anies has discovered surprising recognition amongst Ok-pop followers, primarily younger girls, belying his previous associations with conservative Islam.

One in all his supporters is a 22-year-old feminine scholar who posts on social media platform X about Anies and his marketing campaign utilizing Korean hangul captions. A lot of the footage posted is taken from TikTok.

“He’s the right match for Ok-popification,” the proprietor of the account advised CNBC, asking to not be named for concern of backlash.

“When he did dwell TikTok, the background is like those utilized by Ok-pop idols, possibly it was the curtain.”

The Anies marketing campaign and its official supporter teams have taken observe, often sending her images or movies they’d like her to advertise.

The Ganjar marketing campaign has gimmicks of its personal too, akin to “Prime Gun”-style jackets and penguin symbols. However, in accordance with his marketing campaign workforce, they’re most all in favour of movies of him interacting naturally with voters on the bottom to showcase his humble roots.

“TikTok has distinctive traits. The algorithm values a lot the authenticity and the originality of the movies,” says Karaniya Dharmasaputra, deputy for media channels on the Ganjar marketing campaign workforce. “On TikTok we favor an unpolished sort of video. Instagram, I believe values extra the polished content material.”

Older politicians have needed to embark on a crash course for TikTok campaigning.

Ganjar’s operating mate, Mahfud MD has taken a lead function right here, copying Anies’ signature dwell broadcasts. However introducing the 66-year-old minister and former chief justice of the constitutional courtroom to the platform was tough at first.

“After we first inspired Pak Mahfud to do a livestream, it was a bit awkward to be very sincere,” stated Karaniya. “However he tailored in a short time.”

With the ability of TikTok changing into clear, worries about its potential for misuse have additionally grown.

Misinformation has been a significant subject on social media in previous Indonesian elections, with outright lies spreading extensively boosted by bots and “buzzers,” individuals employed to churn out and promote propaganda by one group or one other.

TikTok is now making an attempt to restrict not solely the unfold of misinformation, but in addition its function as a platform for political messages.

Paid political promoting or fundraising by politicians and political events shouldn’t be allowed on the social media platform. The corporate has additionally cast partnerships with authorities our bodies, native NGOs, and newswire company Agence-France Presse to fight misinformation.

“The brief video format used on TikTok means many of the misinformation we see circulating on the platform consists of edited clips or footage shared out of context with a deceptive or false caption,” stated a consultant for AFP.

Some examples embody clips doctored to make them appear as if crowds at a Prabowo rally — who had been in actual fact his supporters — had been cheering on his opponents, one claiming that Anies had transformed to Christianity, and one other of a number one journalist endorsing Prabowo.

In line with Mafindo, one of many NGOs working with TikTok, between January and November final 12 months, simply 7.4% of the hoaxes they recorded and helped debunk had been on TikTok.

“It is on YouTube and Fb that we discovered probably the most disinformation, however I believe TikTok is catching up. That means numerous hoaxes at the moment are occurring on TikTok,” stated Septiaji Nugroho, chairperson of Mafindo.