Using Network Analysis on Twitter Data to Identify Threats on Indonesian Digital Activism

TL;DR

This paper uses network analysis on Twitter data to identify threats like hashtag hijacking, bot activity, and systematic campaigns in Indonesian digital activism, highlighting challenges for online discourse security post-COVID.

Contribution

It introduces a network analysis approach to detect threats in digital activism, revealing prevalent hashtag hijacking, bot usage, and systematic campaigns in Indonesian Twitter activism.

Findings

Hashtag hijacking occurs frequently in digital activism.

Bots are prevalent and highly active in the observed case.

Evidence suggests systematic information campaigns are present.

Abstract

In this study, we tried to see and characterize potential threats to digital activism in the internet-active nation of Indonesia by doing network analysis on a recent digital activism event on Twitter, which protested against a recent law related to alcoholic beverage investment. We hoped insights from the study can help the nation moving forward as public discourses are likely to stay online post-COVID. From this study, we found that threats in form of hashtag hijackings happen often in digital activism, and there were traces of a systematic information campaign in our observed case. We also found that the usage of bots is prevalent in and they showed significant activity, although the extent to which they influenced the conversation needs to be followed through more. These threats are something to think about as activism goes increasingly digital after COVID-19 as it can imbue unwanted messages, sow polarization, and distract the conversation from the real issue.