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Journal Paper Format International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 8, (2020), pp. 523-530 Users Perception of Social Media on Political Satire in Political Memes in Indonesia Ansar Suherman Universitas Muhammadiyah Buton, Indonesia [email protected] Abstract Political satire emerged in the political years in Indonesia, especially before the presidential and vice-presidential elections of the Republic of Indonesia in 2019. One form of political satire is contained in political memes on social media. The use of social media to spread political memes can reach a wider audience. The phenomenon of the emergence of political memes by many Indonesians is motivated by social pressure and political turmoil of political elites at the national or local level, so that many creative ideas emerge to eliminate boredom. Not just to get rid of boredom, but to provide entertainment. This meme is a medium that conveys information through humor, and figuratively has long been a tool of resistance. This study looks at political memes that exist in several social media, namely Facebook and Instagram. The purpose of this study is to analyze the perception of social media users about political innuendo contained in social media accounts using a qualitative approach. The findings in this study are that political memes in Indonesia have become one of the media that provides ideas and criticisms of social and political life phenomena that are of interest to the political elite and to direct the government. In addition, several factors were found that caused differences in the perception of social media users about the content of political memes. The conclusion is the background of the level of education and the background of cultural values adopted by the informant are the factors that distinguish these perceptions. Keywords: perception, social media, satire politics, political meme 1. Introduction Richard Dawkins is a figure who pioneered the study of memetics through his book "The Selfish Gene" in 1976. According to Dawkins, memes come from the Greek "mimeme" which means "to imitate". The concept then became part of popular culture that is happening in society today [1]. The phenomenon of political memes in cyberspace especially social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube) has become an interesting and prolonged discourse material especially in the field of political communication. The phenomenon of using political memes is more aimed at providing criticism and satire to the ruling government, political opponents or protesting the economic, political, social, and cultural situation, but the contents of messages in political memes sometimes do not pay attention to ethics in political communication (satire style, parody, metaphor). Political memes seem to have become a new genre in the study of political communication and are considered a lingua franca in campaigning activities in the current digital era. The presence and development of media in the web 2.0 era gave rise to various forms of criticism and political satire channels such as blogs, YouTube and, the web, specifically those containing political satire [2]. The development of these media also contributed to the changing patterns of community communication in the digital world. If previously, when television broadcasts were still the main source of information, the process of delivering information, especially political information, was still one-way, because voters were only the main objects to be influenced and did not have direct power ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST 523 Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 8, (2020), pp. 523-530 to change (the message content) what was conveyed by the broadcast television, with the subject being a television program controlled by a team of editors. Although political memes on the internet have become a tool for citizens to actively participate in and become a tool for discourse in the middle of social life, the effect of political memes has not been very clear enough to influence an audience [3]. In-depth research needs to be done on the perception of the audience to see the extent of the effects of political memes on the internet, especially social media. According to Tay, political memes have become a new style of political humor resulting from the development of the digital world. Political memes as the latest political humor style contribute to the creation and consolidation of the web able to absorb and reframe content from popular culture [4]. Biologist Richard Dawkins was the first person to popularize the term "meme" in 1976 [5]. Dawkins mentioned this in the explanation of genes and evolution, where memes are a replicator, a noun that conveys ideas about cultural transmission units, or imitation units. Meme is used to explain the process of cultural inheritance carried out by humans through replication behavior. The behavior of replication is similar to gene inheritance. The continuous process of cultural inheritance through the process of replication makes the replicator entity compete and adapt to its habitat. Only replicators that can evolve and adapt to the environment survive and be replicated again by humans. According to the Indonesian Dictionary (Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia/ KBBI), memes are non-standard forms of "mim", which means ideas, behaviors, or styles that spread from one person to another in a culture, or footage from television shows, films, etc. or self-made images that are modified by adding words or writings for humorous and entertaining purposes”. The two meanings contained in the KBBI have historical relevance and can refer to the same entity of course. Political memes are widely contained and discussed by researchers [4], [6]-[10]. Research shows that memes have significant implications for the political conversation of a community, even some of which have implications for certain political actions [10]. For example, the involvement of memes in the revolution in Tunisia as described by [7]. Based on this opinion, political memes are considered as a serious action, which has implications for changes in the social fabric of society. In Indonesia, political memes have taken an important part in political communication. In 2019, Indonesia's population is 264 million people, around 171 million people have been connected to the internet (64.8%), an increase from 2018 which only amounted to 123 million people. A very large number to see internet penetration in this country. So the quantity of use of political memes as a means of mass campaigning occurred during the Presidential Election as happened in the 2019 Presidential Election, where the "2019 Change President" meme was a trending topic for quite a long time. The meme itself was then rewarded with another political meme "He Was Busy Working" which seemed to try to answer from the "2019 Change President" meme. So many political memes emerge during the succession of national leadership, both aimed at attacking political opponents or responding to attacks by political opponents, making people as voters bring up different perceptions about these political memes. So this research article aims to analyze the perceptions of social media users of Satire Politics in political memes on the internet, especially social media. By using attribution theory [11] which will analyze matters related to how and why someone's opinion is formed about the situation of the surrounding environment. The basis of this theory states that perception is the basis of one's understanding, reason, and behavior [12]. ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST 524 Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 8, (2020), pp. 523-530 2. Methodology The research method in research uses a qualitative approach. This approach is a very useful instrument and helps researchers in answering complex research questions [13]. In this article, the researcher will describe the research data derived from observations, field notes, documentation, and especially interviews with informants regarding perceptions of social media users on the presence of satire politics in political memes that often emerge before the year politics in Indonesia. Data analysis models go through three stages, namely: data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions or verification. The location of this research was carried out in one of the cities in Indonesia, namely the City of Baubau, located in Southeast Sulawesi Province. The population in this study is the population in the city with a sample of social media users (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), with a variety of educational backgrounds and local cultural values (local wisdom), and who are not directly affiliated with one political party in Indonesia this is to avoid the political motives of an informant to be more objective in providing information, because the motives according to [14] greatly affect a person in processing an information and affect one's attitude or belief. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. This technique is part of the non-probability sampling technique which aims at selecting subjects from a population unit. The reason for choosing this technique is because researchers have limited resources, as well as the results of the study not to generalize to the entire population [15]. 3. Results and Discussion Since the fall of the authoritarian militaristic regime in 1998 under the New Order government led by General Soeharto, the taps of democracy in Indonesia are fully open, marked by the rise of associations or organizations in the name of pro-democracy organizations, political parties labeled pro-people, and the freedom of the people in voicing criticism and protest against the government which in the days of the New Order regime did not happen. The forms and media of criticism / protest against the government used by the public in response to the economic and political situation in Indonesia has changed both in quantity and quality, from conventional media (leaflets, pamphlets, stickers, etc.) to more modern media supported by technological developments information and communication (ICT), especially the internet and social media.
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