DIGITAL POLITICS AND THE RISE OF "CYBER TROOPS": A STUDY OF SOCIAL MEDIA MANIPULATION AND ITS IMPACT ON INDONESIAN DEMOCRACY
Abstract
The proliferation of social media in Indonesia has introduced new dynamics in the political landscape. The rise of "cyber troops" groups or individuals paid to manipulate public opinion online has become a significant challenge to democratic processes. Social media platforms, once considered powerful tools for political engagement, are now being used to spread misinformation, propaganda, and polarizing content, undermining democratic integrity. This study aims to explore the role of social media manipulation through cyber troops and its impact on Indonesian democracy. Specifically, it investigates the techniques used by cyber troops to sway public opinion and the consequences for democratic processes, such as elections and public policy debates. A qualitative research approach was employed, utilizing content analysis of social media campaigns, interviews with political analysts, and case studies of recent political events in Indonesia. The study also examines the legal and ethical frameworks surrounding digital political manipulation. The research reveals that cyber troops significantly influence voter behavior and public discourse in Indonesia, creating a distorted political narrative. These activities have led to increased polarization and undermined public trust in democratic institutions. The study concludes that while social media has enhanced political engagement, it has also facilitated the manipulation of public opinion, posing risks to the democratic process in Indonesia. Effective regulation and media literacy initiatives are essential to mitigate the influence of cyber troops.
Full text article
References
Adu, Y. N., & Ramich, M. S. (2025). The Principle of Distinction Between Civilian Objects and Military Objectives in the Context of the Development of Information and Communication Technologies in Armed Conflicts. Vestnik RUDN. International Relations, 25(1), 67–77. https://doi.org/10.22363/2313-0660-2025-25-1-67-77
Alkhaldi, T. M. (2026). Internet of Things-Enabled Cyber Threat Detection in Self-driving Vehicle Networks Using a Hybrid Deep Learning-Based Security Model. In G.-N. Nguyen, A. Swaroop, & P. Shukla (Eds.), Proceedings of Fifth International Conference on Computing and Communication Networks (Vol. 1775, pp. 255–274). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-14189-7_23
Al-Sharafi, A. M., Alrayes, F. S., Alruwais, N., Maray, M., Alshuhail, A., Darem, A. A., Dlaim Alotaibi, S., & Abdullah Al-Hagery, M. (2025). Ensuring Zero Trust Security in Consumer Internet of Things Using Federated Learning-Based Attack Detection Model. IEEE Access, 13, 54423–54438. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3551212
Austin, G. (2025). Australia. In G. Christou, W. Vosse, J. Burton, & J. A. Koops (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook on Cyber Diplomacy (pp. 613–631). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-93385-1_27
Axelsson, C.-A. W., Nygren, T., Roozenbeek, J., & Van Der Linden, S. (2025). Bad News in the civics classroom: How serious gameplay fosters teenagers’ ability to discern misinformation techniques. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 57(5), 992–1018. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2024.2338451
Bian, C., Russell, S., Mali, A., Lathouwers, E., De Pauw, K., Habay, J., Bogataj, Š., & Roelands, B. (2025). Methodological Considerations and Effectiveness for Ecologically Valid Mental Fatigue Inducement in Sports: A Systematic Review. Sports Medicine - Open, 11(1), 82. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-025-00891-0
Bozkurt, S., Gligor, D., Hollebeek, L. D., & Sumlin, C. (2025). Understanding the effects of firms’ unresponsiveness on social media toward customer feedback on customers’ engagement: The impact of ethnicity. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 19(1), 59–75. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-09-2023-0317
Bräuchler, B. (2026). Islamic Radicalism Online. In A. Piela, Islam and the Media (1st ed., pp. 64–87). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003763666-4
Brewer, P. R., Cuddy, L., Dawson, W., & Stise, R. (2025). Artists or art thieves? Media use, media messages, and public opinion about artificial intelligence image generators. AI & SOCIETY, 40(1), 77–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-023-01854-3
C, A., R, V., M, M., & R, A. C. (2025). TinyML-based intrusion detection systems for sustainable and energy-constrained IoT devices. Results in Engineering, 28, 108013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2025.108013
Hussain, I., Tan, S., & Huang, J. (2025). Few-shot based learning recaptured image detection with multi-scale feature fusion and attention. Pattern Recognition, 161, 111248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patcog.2024.111248
Jaruga-S?kowska, S., Sta?kiewicz-Bartecka, W., & Wo?niak-Holecka, J. (2025). The Impact of Social Media on Eating Disorder Risk and Self-Esteem Among Adolescents and Young Adults: A Psychosocial Analysis in Individuals Aged 16–25. Nutrients, 17(2), 219. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17020219
Khan, A. A., Laghari, A. A., Inam, S. A., Ullah, S., Shahzad, M., & Syed, D. (2025). A survey on multimedia-enabled deepfake detection: State-of-the-art tools and techniques, emerging trends, current challenges & limitations, and future directions. Discover Computing, 28(1), 48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10791-025-09550-0
Lundberg, E., & Mozelius, P. (2025). The potential effects of deepfakes on news media and entertainment. AI & SOCIETY, 40(4), 2159–2170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-024-02072-1
Ma, L., Yang, P., Xu, Y., Yang, Z., Li, P., & Huang, H. (2025). Deep learning technology for face forgery detection: A survey. Neurocomputing, 618, 129055. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neucom.2024.129055
Manasrah, A., Yaseen, Q., Al-Aqrabi, H., & Liu, L. (2025). Identity-Based Authentication in VANETs: A Review. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 26(4), 4260–4282. https://doi.org/10.1109/TITS.2025.3528932
Maray, M. (2025). Internet of Things-Enabled Cyber Threat Detection in Self-Driving Vehicle Networks Using a Hybrid Deep Learning-Based Security Model. 2025 15th International Conference on Information Science and Technology (ICIST), 221–229. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICIST66592.2025.11306738
Margiansyah, D. (2025). Digitalizing Authoritarianism in Indonesia: Exploring the Intersection of Civic Activism, Digital Repression, and Democratic Erosion. In F. Noor & S. Nuryanti (Eds.), Indonesian Perspectives on Democracy (pp. 183–209). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-3137-7_11
Massey, P. M., Murray, R. M., Kostizak, K., Lo, W.-J., & Yudell, M. (2025). Exploring the ethics of using fictional stories for health education on social media to share information and emotions about the HPV vaccine: A cross-sectional study with interdisciplinary health experts. Vaccine, 46, 126575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126575
Mucundorfeanu, M., Balaban, D. C., & Mauer, M. (2025). Exploring the effectiveness of digital manipulation disclosures for Instagram posts on source credibility and authenticity of social media influencers. International Journal of Advertising, 44(1), 131–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2024.2381973
Nwangwu, C. (2025). Political Financing and Vulnerability: Social Protection and Election Campaign Financing in Nigeria. Society, 62(6), 878–891. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-025-01074-z
Peter, S., Riemer, K., & West, J. D. (2025). The benefits and dangers of anthropomorphic conversational agents. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(22), e2415898122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2415898122
Piña-García, C. A. (2025). In-context learning for propaganda detection on Twitter Mexico using large language model meta AI. Telematics and Informatics Reports, 19, 100232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teler.2025.100232
Qayyum, A., Jamil, R. A., Shah, A. M., & Lee, K. Y. (2025). Unpacking the dark side of positive online destination brand engagement: Effects on stress, disengagement, and switching intention. Current Issues in Tourism, 28(16), 2702–2720. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2024.2387818
Ruijgrok, K., Berenschot, W., Gaw, F., Sombatpoonsiri, J., Wijayanto, Agonos, M. J., & Sastramidjaja, Y. (2026). Towards the Comparative Study of Domestic Influence Operations: Cyber Troops and Elite Competition in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Political Communication, 43(1), 128–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2025.2566098
Sastramidjaja, Y. (2025). Control-Alt-Shift Action: Indonesian Activist Youth Navigating the Double-Edged Sword of Social Media. Indonesia, 119(1), 59–76. https://doi.org/10.1353/ind.2025.a961927
Sharma, D., & Sharma, S. (2025). Exacerbation and Combat of Cyberattacks: The Dual Paradox of Machine Learning. In G. Kaur, T. Choudhury, & S. Balamurugan (Eds.), The Techno?Legal Dynamics of Cyber Crimes in Industry 5.0 (1st ed., pp. 101–119). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781394242177.ch6
Shunmugiah, J., Sellappan, S., Lakshmanan, K., & Sethuraman, R. (2025). A Data-Driven Approach to IoT Security: Detecting Cyber Attacks with AEInc-BGTO. Annals of Data Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40745-025-00634-8
Talamayan, F., & Candelaria, J. L. (2025). Populist desires, nostalgic narratives: The Marcos golden age myth and manipulation of collective memories on YouTube. Asian Journal of Political Science, 33(1), 55–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/02185377.2024.2416116
Tarsney, C. (2025). Deception and manipulation in generative AI. Philosophical Studies, 182(7), 1865–1887. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-024-02259-8
Wijayanto, W., Berenschot, W., & Suwana, F. (2025). KPK and Taliban: Cyber Troops and the Social Media Influence Operation to Weaken Indonesia’s Anti-corruption Body. Indonesia, 119(1), 103–121. https://doi.org/10.1353/ind.2025.a961929
Yuvaraj, T., Buvana, D., Thirumalai, M., Venkatesan, S., Bajaj, M., Blazek, V., & Prokop, L. (2026). Artificial Intelligence–driven cyber–physical energy resilience framework for secure and sustainable smart distribution networks. Energy Strategy Reviews, 64, 102168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2026.102168
Zainol, Z., Ismail, A. R., Nohuddin, P. N. E., & Sulaiman, R. (2025). Exploring Election Prediction Outcomes on Social Media Data using Machine Learning Algorithms. In L. O. Yesufu & P. N. E. Nohuddin (Eds.), Technology for Societal Transformation (pp. 121–130). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-1721-0_7
Zecchinon, P., & Standaert, O. (2025). The War in Ukraine Through the Prism of Visual Disinformation and the Limits of Specialized Fact-Checking. A Case-Study at Le Monde. Digital Journalism, 13(1), 61–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2024.2332609
Authors
Copyright (c) 2025 João Costa, Maria Silva, Pedro Santos
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
