Indonesia: How TikTok and Co. decide the election

In the world’s third-largest democracy, elections today could be decided via TikTok and Instagram. One reason: More than half of those eligible to vote in Indonesia are younger than 40.

Three young men hold a cartoon character of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto into the camera. They call “Gemoy,” which translates to “sweet and cuddly.” His social media team has given the 72-year-old, controversial ex-general and current defense minister a new image and portrays him as the nice grandpa with doe eyes.

“The number of young voters in Indonesia is huge. Artificial intelligence makes the campaign easy for us. It’s nice that this election puts you in a good mood, is happy and fresh,” says Muhammad Arief Rosyid Hasan, head of Prabowo’s social media team. Team, in ARD-Interview. Its office in the center of Jakarta looks like a start-up with bean bags, table football, PlayStation and large comic drawings on the walls.

half of the eligible voters under 40

In Indonesia, the third largest democracy in the world, not only the president is elected today, but also around 23,000 representatives – for the national and regional parliaments, as well as district administrators and mayors. More than half of eligible voters are under the age of 40, meaning they are Millennials or Generation Z. Indonesia has more TikTok users than any other country outside the United States. Social media are therefore the election arenas of the young, digital society.

TikTok has even become the most frequently used source of information for political content after linear television. This was the result of a survey by the polling institute Indicator Politics Indonesia. Almost everyone in Indonesia has a smartphone, allowing candidates to reach even those living on the most remote of the archipelago nation’s approximately 17,000 islands.

Also use of artificial intelligence

For the first time, artificial intelligence (AI) is being used on a large scale. Prabowo’s cartoon avatar was created using US software Midjourney. This is a so-called generative AI that can create images or videos with the help of just a few commands.

An employee of Prabowo’s team opens an app that they use during the election campaign. Take a photo, load it into the program and you’re dancing with the presidential candidate, jogging down the street with him or hiking through the jungle.

The Indonesian presidential election is the first in which the US software Midjourney will be used on a large scale, says Katie Harbath, publicist and former chief election official at Facebook parent Meta. She was surprised at how quickly this technology, which has dominated the headlines since the text chatbot ChatGPT was published in November 2022, found its way into the election campaign there.

The technology has not yet been used for large disinformation campaigns in the Indonesian election campaign, said Aribowo Sasmito, co-founder of the fact-checker Mafindo. Compared to the 2019 election, the amount of misinformation is limited.

Human rights violations seem forgotten

The massive use of social media for his election campaign has catapulted Prabowo Subianto’s popularity ratings. Prabowo’s past seems forgotten. The former general is accused of human rights violations under the brutal long-term dictator Suharto. Prabowo is his son-in-law.

In the 1990s, Prabowo is said to have ordered the kidnapping of more than 20 democracy activists – more than half of whom have disappeared to date. Because of the allegations, the ex-general was discharged from the army, lived in exile in Jordan and was not allowed to enter the USA for many years.

His past plays almost no role in the election campaign. The majority of young voters cannot remember this time. Osco Olfriady Letunggamu from Prabowo’s social media team even denies the allegations. “I think there is no evidence of this. This is just a political strategy of our opponents.” Prabowo has also repeatedly denied the allegations.

TikTok dances as an election campaign

Prabowo’s popularity is also due to the support of current President Joko Widodo. He has sent his eldest son, 36-year-old Gibran Rakabuming Raka, into the running as vice president alongside Prabowo. Gibran is the opposite of Prabowo. He is the youngest candidate and has only been in politics for a short time.

Gibran also regularly posts clips in which he takes up the most popular TikTok trends, such as funny dances. His most popular videos have been viewed around 20 million times, putting him on par with Taylor Swift on an average day. “I think he can be the voice of young people because he is young himself,” enthuses 21-year-old first-time voter Azhara Saputri.

All presidential candidates focus their election promises on the young electorate, promising millions of new jobs, economic recovery, good wages, and want to do something about climate change or institutional corruption. These are issues that particularly concern young voters.

Competitor relies on K-Pop

Young people will decide the election, but political power will remain in the hands of the old political elite. In addition to ex-General Prabowo, there are two former governors, Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan, both in their mid-50s. While Ganjar complains that the young people are more interested in funny gimmicks than political content, Anies also relies on social media and K- Pop music.

South Korean bands have many fans in Indonesia, especially among young women. “It all started when Anies started a live on TikTok one day. In the car after an event. That’s what many K-pop stars do after their concerts,” says 22-year-old Hera Putri Haris. “It’s so fun. It doesn’t feel like a presidential election,” adds 17-year-old Marjani Zaitun. In real life, she and others organize K-pop events for her favorite Anies Baswedan using posters, stickers and cardboard cutouts.

More show than content

But Prabowo in particular relies more on show than on political content in order to get young people on his side in the election. He also invests significantly more in the social media election campaign than his competitors.

With success: Although he is the oldest candidate, he is the most popular among young voters. The 72-year-old TikTok star is now well ahead of his competitors in surveys with around 50 percent – and would therefore win the election in Indonesia.