80% of Indonesian journalists have ever practiced self-censorship, most frequently regarding MBG.

A survey conducted by the TIFA Foundation in collaboration with Populix shows that 80% of all journalists surveyed in Indonesia admitted to having engaged in self-censorship within a year of the administration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

This is a practice where a journalist consciously limits or adjusts the news to be published due to concerns about certain consequences. Based on the issue, the reporting on Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) became the topic of most self-censorship, with 58% of respondents doing so.

"This finding shows that journalists tend to be more cautious, even limiting themselves when covering the government's strategic agenda, due to its high political sensitivity and potential pressure," wrote the TIFA Foundation and Populix in their report.

In full, here are the types of articles or topics that were most self-censored by journalist respondents in 2025:

1. The issue of reporting on Free Nutritious Meals (MBG): 58%
2. National Strategic Projects (PSN): 52%
3. Criminality issues: 49%
4. Government/corruption/bureaucracy: 40%
5. Demonstrations and mass actions: 37%
6. Security/conflict issues: 37%
7. Religious/belief issues: 33%
8. Agrarian/land issues: 32%
9. Environment, energy, and mining issues: 31%
10. Politics and elections: 28%
11. Corporate/private company (corporations, businesses) reporting: 23%
12. Human rights and vulnerable groups (women, children, minorities, and others) issues: 16%
13. Labor/union issues: 13%
14. Media or media industry internal issues: 8%
15. Others: 2%

The TIFA Foundation conducted this survey in collaboration with Populix, involving 655 active journalist respondents. The majority of respondents were field journalists (80%), followed by editors/editors (12%), managing editors (8%), chief editors (6%), and others (2%).

The respondents were spread across Java Island (47%), Sumatra (18%), Sulawesi (11%), Kalimantan (8%), Bali-Nusa Tenggara (7%), Papua (5%), and Maluku-North Maluku (4%). The data collection was conducted in 2025 using two methods, namely quantitative and qualitative.

In addition to surveys, they also collected secondary data on violence against journalists compiled by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia, as well as in-depth interviews with a number of stakeholders in the media field.