Social Media and Politics: Examining Indonesians’ Political Knowledge on Facebook

Abstract

The Internet and social media have played a significant role in contemporary<br />political sphere of Indonesia. In particular, they have been widely used<br />for political activism and discussion; but whether the discussions are<br />constructive is another issue. Constructive political discussion requires<br />several preconditions; one of the most important requirements is rational<br />reasoning. Citizens must be equipped with some degree of political<br />knowledge and competency to provide reasonable arguments and<br />justifications in discussions. The primary objective of this paper is to examine<br />the level of political knowledge of Indonesian Facebookers regarding<br />corruption which is currently a serious issue in Indonesia. An online survey<br />was conducted among the most active users of an anti-corruption Facebook<br />group of Indonesians. The results of the study generally suggested that the<br />participants were well informed about the current affairs of their society<br />and showed a high level of political knowledge in terms of the Corruption<br />Eradication Commission and also the incumbent politicians; however, the<br />results indicated a low level of knowledge regarding laws and regulations<br />surrounding corruption as well as the issues related to the former politicians.