Oratio Directa is a peer-reviewed academic journal in communication studies published by LPPM Universitas Bung Karno.
The Reality of Groupthink in the Deliberation of the Tobacco Bill
Indonesia is known as one of the world's leading tobacco-producing countries. Clear regulation from upstream to downstream is required so that tobacco control benefits society while accounting for health protection, social life, cultural customs, and industrial interests. As a democratic country, Indonesia divides power among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and interaction between the executive and legislature occurs throughout the deliberation, decision-making, and ratification of laws. The prolonged and controversial deliberation of the Tobacco Bill, its multiplier effects, and accessible meeting records make it relevant for study through groupthink theory. This qualitative study uses a constructivist paradigm. Each member of the special committee represents a political party and expresses views according to the party's vision, mission, and ideology. The findings indicate that policy can become a political commodity, causing an urgent bill to proceed slowly and remain unresolved because of competing interests.
Copyright (c) 2024 Edik Prayitno https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Analysis of Anies Rasyid Baswedan's Political Rhetoric in the 2017 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election
Rhetoric is closely related to a person's ability to speak before an audience. In the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election, debate forums gave candidates an opportunity to attract public sympathy and political support through effective rhetoric. This study analyzes how Anies Rasyid Baswedan used Aristotle's rhetorical concepts and invitational rhetoric in debates organized by the Jakarta General Elections Commission. The qualitative study applies rhetorical analysis to digital-trace documentation obtained from debate recordings on CNN Indonesia's YouTube channel. The findings show that Anies effectively used ethos, pathos, and logos and applied an audience approach based on equality, immanent value, and self-determination. These strategies attracted sympathy and political support and contributed to his victory in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election.
Copyright (c) 2024 Hari Prasetyo et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Anthropomorphism: Non-Human Communication and Human Self-Image Formation in the Animation Industry
This study reviews the use of anthropomorphic techniques in the animation industry. Through qualitative research based on descriptive-interpretive analysis, a phenomenological approach, and the theory of anthropomorphism developed by Wells and Parkinson, the study finds that anthropomorphized animals in animation series and digital feature films generally retain their natural characteristics and behavior while being represented in human form. Animation products contribute to the reformulation of imagination and the formation of a positive human self-image because their stories relate to current issues in human life. Anthropomorphism is not only entertaining but also conveys moral values and creates emotional bonds between audiences and characters. The study encourages animation and creative-film producers to continue creating content relevant to increasingly complex audience demands.
Copyright (c) 2024 Bambang Mudjiyanto et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Friendship Relations in Intercultural Communication Studies
Friendship is one of the most valuable relationships for humans. In intercultural communication, friendship can be understood as a relationship between people from different cultural backgrounds and can produce positive changes in attitude, including greater cultural understanding, acceptance, and self-reflection. This qualitative descriptive study describes and explains friendship among lecturers at Universitas Bung Karno from the perspective of similarity-attraction theory. Data were collected from six participants through participatory observation and documentation. The study concludes that friendship within the lecturer group is built on shared values and beliefs, attitudes, cultural backgrounds, and interests, allowing the participants to complement one another despite their cultural differences.
Copyright (c) 2024 Dina Sudarmika https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Content Analysis of Anies Rasyid Baswedan's Political Campaign in the 2024 Presidential Election on Instagram
Social media play an important role in political campaigns because candidates can use them to interact with sympathizers and supporters. Anies Rasyid Baswedan uses Instagram to convey political messages and build engagement. This study examines his political campaign on Instagram through content analysis, focusing on his personality and the political key messages displayed on the platform. The study uses a qualitative approach and analyzes 145 uploads posted by @aniesbaswedan in January 2024. The content-analysis instrument covers campaign strategies, public interaction, and visual symbols and messages. The findings show that Anies Baswedan consistently conveyed campaign messages through social media and that the Desak Anies campaign contributed to the practice of modern democratic engagement.
Copyright (c) 2024 Andi Agustian Pratama et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Framing of News on the Ten-Year Sentence in Mardani H. Maming's Bribery Case on Tempo.co and Suara.com, February-March 2023
This study discusses the corruption case involving bribery and gratuities for mining business permits (IUP) committed by Mardani H. Maming in Tanah Bumbu Regency. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested him for allegedly receiving Rp104.3 billion. The study uses mass-media reality-construction theory, a qualitative framing-analysis approach, a constructivist paradigm, media-text analysis, descriptive research, and documentation as its data-collection technique. The findings show how media organizations or journalists frame news events from their respective perspectives, thereby revealing the social construction, neutrality, and factuality of the coverage produced by Tempo.co and Suara.com. The study concludes that both media should continue to maintain news elements in accordance with Law No. 40 of 1999 concerning the Press and the Journalistic Code of Ethics.
Copyright (c) 2024 Risqi Inayah Dwijayanti et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Assisting the Use of AI in Journalism through a Verification-Journalism Approach
Journalism is a profession that is always in contact with technology. Along with the development of telecommunications technology, journalism has changed its production processes by using artificial intelligence (AI). Although AI offers various conveniences, it still has weaknesses and must be used cautiously because inaccurate data can produce information bias. The public may consume incorrect news and consequently develop incorrect perceptions and behavior. Verification journalism can reduce information bias in work produced by journalists using AI assistance. Its principles require journalists to remain careful and to prioritize ethics and truth in journalistic work.
Copyright (c) 2024 Faisyal et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Factors Causing the Increasing Prevalence of Stunting in South Central Timor Regency, East Nusa Tenggara
The increase in stunting rates in the results of the tri-monthly data collection in South Central Timor (TTS) Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, from 13,441 to 13,488 in December 2024 raises fundamental questions regarding the factors causing the increase. This qualitative study uses stakeholder-perception analysis, a critical paradigm, and perception theory. The study concludes that the increase in stunting rates in TTS is influenced by parenting patterns, unwanted pregnancies, low education and awareness of following doctors' recommendations, biological and environmental factors, and insufficient family support. Leadership factors and convergent work that have not been maximized are the dominant factors that make stunting rates difficult to reduce in the regency.
Copyright (c) 2024 Salomon Andreas Mesak Babys et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The Vina Cirebon Case: Social Media as a Means of Seeking Justice
The adage 'no viral, no justice' has gained prominence in Indonesian legal discourse. The murder case of Vina Cirebon received renewed legal attention after becoming viral on social media. Netizens collectively searched for online and field data, prepared investigative accounts, and distributed them through social media. Some acted as citizen journalists whose findings contributed information relevant to the legal process. Social movement theory explains that collective action outside established institutions can influence public institutions. In this case, netizens used social media as a means of social and legal resistance in seeking justice.
Analysis of Factors Inhibiting Digital Village Development in Indonesia
The national target of achieving comprehensive digital village development in Indonesia remains a major task for government and village communities. Various obstacles and challenges affect its implementation. This study explains the factors inhibiting digital village programs. It applies an exploratory qualitative approach and collects secondary data through a literature review. The findings show that digital village development is mainly constrained by the quality of village human resources, limited facilities and infrastructure, and insufficient social and institutional support from stakeholders.
Stereotypes of Cendrawasih Mess Residents toward Papuan People
Stereotyping is a process of social classification in which a group simplifies or generalizes signs about another group, explicitly or implicitly presenting judgments or assumptions about behavior, characteristics, or history. Social interaction at Mess Cendrawasih involves diverse Javanese, Batak, Palembang, and Papuan cultural backgrounds and may produce intercultural communication barriers. This study uses the uncertainty reduction theory of Charles Berger and Richard Calabrese and a qualitative approach with interviews. The findings identify positive stereotypes in helpful and polite behavior, and negative stereotypes in perceptions of high temperament, alcohol consumption, and gambling. These stereotypes do not occur on a scale that causes discrimination or disrupts harmony among the residents' diverse cultures.
Copyright (c) 2024 Dina Sudarmika et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Educational Video Content on the TikTok Account @mayatoomuch as a Medium of Self-Expression
Self-existence is a person's condition and ability to find meaning in life. This study examines self-existence through educational video content on the TikTok account @mayatoomuch. It uses symbolic interaction theory and the concepts of social media, TikTok, self-concept, and self-existence. The study applies a qualitative approach within the constructivist paradigm and a phenomenological method. Data were collected through observation, interviews, documentation, and triangulation. The findings show that Maya Rachmawaty's self-existence can be understood through four components of Edmund Husserl's phenomenology: intentionality, noesis and noema, intuition, and intersubjectivity. Self-existence on TikTok is maintained through consistent educational content, audience interaction, personal branding, and the continuing relevance of content to followers.
Information Digitalization and News Abundance in the Post-Truth Era
Information credibility in digital society is increasingly challenged by the abundance of information. Truth and news accuracy are often treated merely as matters of public literacy, sharing errors, social-media effects, or legal problems rather than as questions of factual integrity and information ethics. This qualitative study uses descriptive-interpretive analysis, literature review, and virtual ethnography to examine the erosion of logos and ethics that exposes digital society to post-truth practices. Logos encompasses facts, logic, truth, and valid reasoning. In the post-truth era, truth evaluation is postponed or avoided, while falsehood can convincingly masquerade as valid argument. The study shows that post-truth rhetoric and political agendas are enabled not only by social media but also by media multiplication and the proliferation of information sources in cyberspace. These conditions blur the boundary between truth and falsehood and accelerate the circulation of disinformation.
Political Communication Strategy of Al Haris and Abdullah Sani in Winning the 2020 Jambi Gubernatorial Election
This study analyzes the political communication strategy, obstacles, and opportunities of the campaign team of Al Haris and Abdullah Sani in the 2020 Jambi gubernatorial election. A mature communication strategy and broad dissemination of political issues were necessary to win the electoral contest. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, the study applies political marketing theory through push, pull, and pass marketing. The campaign team employed face-to-face communication, social media, mainstream and online media, and limited open campaigning. The main internal obstacle was weak coordination and communication among campaign personnel, while the external obstacle involved perceptual distortion among novice voters with limited political education. The candidates' programs, personal appeal, religious and community networks, and political marketing capacity created opportunities to broaden electoral support.
Copyright (c) 2024 Edison Bonartua Hutapea et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The Tabuik Tradition, Islamic Heritage, and Pariaman Local Culture
The Tabuik ritual originated in Middle Eastern Shi'a traditions brought by people of Indian descent. Through agreement among nagari communities, its celebration was adapted to Minangkabau customs and developed into a Pariaman cultural tradition. This qualitative study examines the synthesis of Islam and local culture embodied in Tabuik. Its principal elements and customary values demonstrate a dynamic combination of religion and Pariaman tradition that continues to develop according to changing historical contexts.
Copyright (c) 2023 Faisyal et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The Philosophy and Benefits of Artificial Intelligence for Building a Civilized Indonesia
Artificial intelligence is a computer-based system increasingly used across digital technologies and capable of transforming global society positively and negatively. This qualitative study uses philosophical analysis and literature review to examine AI's ontological, epistemological, and axiological dimensions. AI is understood ontologically as computer-generated intelligence, epistemologically as a multidisciplinary construction, and axiologically as a double-edged technology. The study concludes that AI must be directed toward improving human life and strengthening Indonesia's civilization.
Copyright (c) 2023 Rosa Anggelina Babys et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Social Stigma in the Short Film Tilik: An Analysis of Tzvetan Todorov's Three Semiotic Levels
Film functions both as art and as a medium for communicating social messages. This qualitative descriptive study analyzes the construction of social stigma in the short film Tilik through Tzvetan Todorov's three semiotic levels. The analysis shows that the film represents social stigma embedded in everyday community interaction. Internet and social-media information intensifies stigma toward particular individuals, especially when audiences lack adequate media literacy and become both producers and consumers of misinformation.
Copyright (c) 2023 Stefanus Poto Elu et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Work Adaptation of SCTV and Indosiar Television Journalists during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Television journalists faced major internal and external changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study examines how SCTV and Indosiar journalists adapted their work mechanisms. The findings show that journalists used online reporting for red-zone coverage and interviews that could not be conducted face to face. User-generated content became part of the reporting process when sources recorded their own responses and sent them through WhatsApp. These adaptations supported newsroom continuity while reducing health risks.
Copyright (c) 2023 Abdul Haris et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Health Communication Methods Used by Surveillance Volunteers in COVID-19 Education during the Endemic Period
The COVID-19 outbreak required surveillance volunteers to process data and communicate health information to communities. This qualitative study examines the health communication methods used by volunteers to educate the public. The findings identify three main methods: individual approaches, communication through community health-center teams, and communication through social media. Accurate coordination and validation are required before health information is published and consumed by the public.
Copyright (c) 2023 Titih Nurhaipah et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Framing Analysis of News on Indonesia's Capital Relocation in Republika.co.id and Tempo.co
Online media play an important role in informing and educating the public about Indonesia's capital relocation to East Kalimantan. This qualitative study applies Pan and Kosicki's framing analysis to compare Republika.co.id and Tempo.co coverage of the relocation and the inauguration of the capital's zero point. The analysis examines syntactic, script, thematic, and rhetorical structures. The findings show that Republika.co.id tends to emphasize support for government policy, whereas Tempo.co more strongly foregrounds criticism of the government.
Copyright (c) 2023 Edison Bonartua Hutapea et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Cybercrime, Citizens' Data Protection, and Electoral Integrity
Personal-data theft before an election is a criminal act that can damage public trust in electoral processes and results. This qualitative case study, based on literature review, examines cybercrime, weak protection of citizens' data, and their implications for the integrity of Indonesia's 2024 simultaneous elections. The study finds that expanding digital technology is accompanied by increased data theft, frequently driven by economic motives. Weak personal-data protection remains a serious state responsibility, while data leaks provide space for hackers to delegitimize state control over digital-election technology.
Copyright (c) 2023 Bambang Mudjiyanto et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Perceptions of Bung Karno University Students on National Ideological Resilience in Facing the Threat of Global Capitalism
Globalization propagates capitalist values that can conflict with Pancasila and Indonesian social philosophy. This qualitative descriptive study examines Bung Karno University students' perceptions of national ideological resilience, threats posed by global capitalism, and possible responses to those threats. Data were collected through literature study and unstructured interviews with students, then examined using audience reception analysis within a critical paradigm. The findings show that students generally understand capitalism at a conceptual level but have difficulty identifying its contemporary manifestations. They associate global capitalism with economic domination, cultural colonization, weakened national identity, and the influence of liberalism and individualism. Although most participants remain optimistic about Pancasila's resilience, they recognize latent threats through sectarianism, digital culture, and proxy-war practices. Strengthening Pancasila-based education, critical ideological literacy, cultural filtering, national self-reliance, and state protection is therefore necessary.
Copyright (c) 2023 Salomon A. M. Babys et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Between Artificial Intelligence, Humans, and Religious Activities
Artificial intelligence has entered not only public spaces but also private and religious activities. Religious communities increasingly use AI-supported applications, robotic clergy, and generated sermon material in worship. This qualitative descriptive study examines the diffusion of AI into religious practice and its implications for relations among worshippers, religious leaders, and God. The analysis draws on conceptual literature, documented examples from Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim practices, and diffusion of innovations theory. The study finds that AI can improve efficiency and assist repetitive or informational aspects of worship, but it cannot fully replace the psychological, emotional, moral, and non-material relationships embodied by human religious leaders. Unrestricted substitution may weaken religious authority and the emotional quality of worship. AI should therefore remain a supporting instrument governed by religious and human values rather than become the dominant actor in religious practice.
Copyright (c) 2023 Faisyal https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Public Relations Activities in Building Positive Relations with Apartment Residents: A Descriptive Study at Sunter Parkview Apartments
Public relations contributes to organizational harmony and to constructive relations among residents of an apartment community. This qualitative descriptive study examines public relations activities at Sunter Parkview Apartments through field interpretation, interviews, and organizational observations. Excellence theory in public relations and participation theory provide the analytical framework. The findings show that resident socialization, blood-donation activities, routine communication, and complaint handling support two-way communication between management and residents. These activities help circulate operational information, accommodate resident aspirations, and strengthen community relations, although complaint resolution remains constrained by operational procedures and response time.
Copyright (c) 2023 Melati Banu et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Representation of the Meaning of Hope in BTS's 'Permission to Dance' Music Video: A Roland Barthes Semiotic Analysis
This study examines the representation of hope in BTS's "Permission to Dance" music video. It aims to reveal how BTS conveys hope through denotative, connotative, and mythological meanings. The study applies qualitative content analysis using Roland Barthes' semiotic perspective. Data were collected through documentation of the music video. The findings show that hope is represented through signs such as releasing purple balloons, a magazine containing predictions, removing masks, and dance movements. These signs represent optimism, freedom, peace, and the hope of returning to normal life after the pandemic.
Copyright (c) 2023 Dina Sudarmika et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Building Former Prisoners' Self-Concept in Society
Public perceptions of former prisoners are sometimes excessive and may influence how former prisoners perceive themselves. Experiences of social discrimination also make it difficult for them to obtain decent employment. A constructive process of adaptation within society can gradually change the negative stigma directed at former prisoners. Their self-concept may develop negatively when social judgments are internalized. Self-concept is not merely a descriptive image of oneself, but also encompasses evaluations formed through interaction with other people and the surrounding social environment.
Copyright (c) 2023 Edison Bonartua Hutapea https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The Dynamics of Media Studies: From Agenda Setting and Construction to Representation and Social Consensus
Among social scientists, the academic position of media studies, especially the position and function of print and electronic media, continues to be debated and develops dynamically. Academic perspectives range from positive views in the positivist media paradigm, through semi-critical post-positivist and constructivist paradigms, to critical and postmodernist or poststructuralist approaches. This qualitative study does not examine the postmodernist or poststructuralist paradigm. It analyzes the position and function of media from positivist, constructivist, and critical perspectives through a review of selected literature and documents. The study finds that constructivist and critical paradigms offer different perspectives, analytical depth, and levels of analysis for understanding the social, cultural, and ideological position and function of media compared with the positivist paradigm.
Digital Marhaens: Soekarno's Thought, Technology, and Generation Z
Digital technology and platform capitalism have transformed economic and political relations while producing new forms of inequality. This conceptual study examines the contemporary relevance of Soekarno's Marhaenism and its relationship to platform workers and Generation Z. It synthesizes literature on Marhaenism, digital labor, algorithmic management, gig-work hazards, and digital activism. The analysis defines digital Marhaens as economically vulnerable actors who may own operational tools such as motorcycles, smartphones, or computers but do not control the platforms, algorithms, data, pricing, or access rules that organize their work. Technology is therefore ambivalent: it expands market access, livelihood options, and public voice while also intensifying dependence, surveillance, work insecurity, and unequal value extraction. Generation Z is positioned as a potential ally because of its familiarity with networked media and digital mobilization, not as a uniformly progressive or homogeneous group. The meeting point between digital Marhaens and Generation Z lies in collective visibility, critical digital literacy, worker organization, and demands for platform accountability. Digital Marhaenism should consequently be understood as a normative framework for technological justice rather than a rejection of technology. Because the study does not collect worker interviews, platform data, or Generation Z survey evidence, its conclusions remain conceptual propositions that require empirical testing in Indonesian platform economies.
Copyright (c) 2026 Novance Silitonga et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Reintegration and Counter-Radicalization: A Case Study of the BNPT Deradicalization Program at Sentul Special Correctional Facility
This study evaluates the National Counterterrorism Agency's deradicalization program at the Sentul Class IIB Special Correctional Facility in Bogor. A qualitative case-study design combines field observation, document analysis, and interviews with 35 informants: 20 former terrorist inmates, five BNPT instructors, five correctional officers, and five terrorism scholars. Program effectiveness is examined across short-, medium-, and long-term dimensions, including participation, behavioral and attitudinal change, social reintegration, and resistance to re-recruitment. The source reports that national-insight education, moderate religious dialogue, psychological counseling, and vocational training support cooperation and disengagement during and shortly after incarceration. Among the 20 former inmates interviewed, 14 were reported to have reintegrated peacefully and started independent livelihoods, while six experienced continuing social and economic difficulties. Long-term sustainability remains constrained by stigma, limited employment access, and pressure from former extremist networks. The study therefore proposes community-based aftercare involving government agencies, local facilitators, civil society, families, and receiving communities. The reported 85% program indicator cannot be independently audited because the source does not identify its denominator, documentary dataset, coding trail, ethics approval, or recidivism measurement period; it is consequently treated as a source-reported indicator rather than a verified population estimate.
Copyright (c) 2026 Edik Prayitno https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Crisis Communication of the Prabowo Administration in the Pig's-Head Terror Case against the Tempo Newsroom
This study analyzes the Prabowo administration's crisis communication following the delivery of a pig's head to the Tempo newsroom in March 2025. The incident was publicly understood as intimidation against a journalist and press freedom. Using a qualitative descriptive case study, the research examines news reports, public statements by government officials, statements from journalist-safety organizations, and supporting literature. Crisis-communication criteria and authoritarian press theory are used to evaluate response speed, empathy, message consistency, institutional responsibility, and trust recovery. The analysis finds that a dismissive public remark attributed to the Head of the Presidential Communication Office shifted attention from the attack to the government's tone, amplified criticism, and created inconsistency with assurances of press freedom. The response did not sufficiently foreground concern for the victim, law-enforcement follow-up, or a coordinated recovery message. The case shows how inadequate empathy and message discipline can turn an external security incident into a reputational crisis for government. However, the unknown perpetrator and the absence of evidence linking the administration to the attack mean that the study evaluates public communication only; it does not establish government involvement. A credible response requires victim-centered empathy, factual updates, consistent interagency messaging, protection of journalistic work, and transparent follow-up.
Copyright (c) 2026 Faisyal et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/