The Strongest Anger Emerges in Interactions with #IndonesiaGelap

The hashtag #IndonesiaGelap ("Indonesia Dark") proliferated on social media, particularly on X (formerly Twitter). Social media analytics platform Drone Emprit analyzed its spread.

Drone Emprit explains that #IndonesiaGelap symbolizes solidarity against government policies perceived as harmful to the public. These include plans to discontinue the Indonesian Smart Card for College Students (KIPK), mass layoffs/PHKs, issues with the free nutritious meals program (MBG), the stalled National Capital City (IKN) project, and the suppression of freedom of speech.

"This hashtag isn't just online protest, but also a push for offline action," Drone Emprit wrote on X on Tuesday, February 18, 2025. Demonstrations, largely driven by student groups, took place across Indonesia.

Drone Emprit recorded over 41,000 mentions and more than 9 billion interactions related to #IndonesiaGelap between February 11-17, 2025.

On February 17, 2025, #IndonesiaGelap trended. There were 30,140 mentions on social media and 1,192 mentions in online media.

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Drone Emprit detected the emotions expressed in posts using the hashtag. Anger was the most prevalent emotion, detected in 428 posts.

This anger stemmed from cuts to education and healthcare budgets, and other policies deemed detrimental to the people.

"Anger towards the government, with calls for transparency and accountability," wrote the platform headed by Ismail Fahmi.

The second most prevalent emotion was joy, appearing in 224 posts. This joy reflected solidarity between students and civil society.

"Netizens praised the students' courage to speak out and take action, highlighting the moments of togetherness and support among the demonstrators," Drone Emprit wrote.

Anticipation was detected in 21 posts, reflecting netizen hopes that the demonstrations would spur change, gain government attention, and elicit a response to protesters' demands. Surprise was found in 15 posts, followed by belief (12), sadness (8), fear (5), and disgust (3).

Drone Emprit's analysis utilized data from various social media platforms, including X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, as well as online media.

Data was collected from February 11-17, 2025, until 23:59 WIB. The keywords used were #IndonesiaGelap and Indonesia Gelap.

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