POPULISME DIGITAL DAN FRAGMENTASI RUANG PUBLIK: BAGAIMANA ALGORITMA MEDIA SOSIAL MEMBENTUK POLARISASI POLITIK DALAM PEMILU PRESIDEN INDONESIA 2024

Abstrak

This study analyzes how social media algorithms contribute to the formation of political polarization and digital public sphere fragmentation in the context of Indonesia's 2024 Presidential Election. Employing a mixed-methods approach integrating computational social network analysis, AI-based sentiment analysis, in-depth interviews, and online surveys, this study collected data from 2.4 million posts across X (Twitter), TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube platforms during January–February 2024. The research found that filter bubble and echo chamber mechanisms amplified by recommendation algorithms create significantly fragmented discursive spaces. The affective polarization coefficient showed a 34.7% increase compared to the 2019 election, while the homophily index in candidate supporter networks reached 0.82 on a 0–1 scale. Content analysis identified three main digital populism strategies: anti-elite narratives, construction of ‘true people’ versus ‘enemies of the people,’ and identity-based emotional mobilization. Findings also indicate that 67.3% of active users were exposed to echo chamber content for more than four hours daily, with lower opinion conversion rates but significantly higher affective intensity. Theoretical and practical implications for Indonesia's digital democratic health are discussed within an updated Habermasian public sphere framework.