Studi Netnografi Antropologi Politik: Peran Media Sosial TikTok dalam Membangun Image "Gemoy" Prabowo Subianto pada Pilpres 2024

Abstract

This writing reviews the “gemoy” image of Prabowo that happened throughout the 2024 Presidential Campaign. The word “gemoy” meaning cute or funny. This word attracted high number of discussions throughout the 02 Presidential Candidate, Prabowo and Gibran among supporters and across the TikTok social media.

This research uses the netnography method, which is a qualitative research method, derived from the ethnography method, but carried out in Indonesian cyberspace. This method was chosen to systematically observe the phenomena that occur on TikTok social media among users who supports Prabowo Subianto. The study focuse on observing user comments and videos created and sent by TikTok social media users about Prabowo Subianto's "gemoy" content.

The result reveals that the term "gemoy," originating from and attributed to Prabowo Subianto by his supporters, carries significant appeal. It was exploited in the campaign of candidate pair 02 with the support of artificial intelligence to create humorous and endearing visual content of Prabowo Subianto. Interviews and observations show that supporters internalized the "Prabowo Gemoy" idea, leading them to believe that Prabowo Subianto is genuinely a humorous and charming individual, as portrayed on social media. The hyperreality formed by this campaign had significant effects in six stages: creating pseudo-emotional relatability, triggering cognitive miser behavior, intensifying polarization, fostering correction behavior, promoting the "all-in" phenomenon, and ultimately reinforcing populism. These effects interact in a cycle that strengthens the "gemoy" image as an effective populist strategy to attract the attention of the younger generation.

The conclusion drawn from this study is that hyperreality blurs the distinction between the reality of Prabowo Subianto as an individual, including his track record, and the humorous and endearing image constructed through the "gemoy" campaign strategy. Furthermore, the use of artificial intelligence tools during the campaign period and the populist dynamics in Indonesian politics amplified the rapid dissemination of the term "gemoy" across the internet. This phenomenon successfully captured the interest of Generation Z and Millennials, who were dominant voter groups in the 2024 presidential election.