The outcome of the 2019 elections led to a public uproar wds after Prabowo that declared he would challenge the results. Deadly riots soon broke out in his support, leaving 6 dead and over 200 wounded. Fake news and conspiracy theories virally spread in the early stages of the riots, claiming the police were shooting protesters inside mosques, and that many of them were secretly Chinese soldiers (Coconuts Jakarta 2019). The rapid spread of fake news urged the authorities to restrict the use of WhatsApp and Instagram for two days in an attempt to prevent the spread of more disinformation and decrease the level of violence (Singh & Russell, 2019). Another instance of an internet shutdown occurred three months later, with the intention of silencing protests in West Papua. Thousands took to the streets in late August 2019 to protest against government discrimination and in favor of self-determination and independence. In addition to security forces, the government responded with connectivity blockings until authorities deemed the security situation in the region “recovered” (Netblocks 2019). References Clement, J. 2019. Social Network Users in Selected Countries in 2018-2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/278341/number-of-social-network-users-in-selectedcountries/ Coconuts Jakarta. 2019. Police deny entering mosques in pursuit of rioters as hoaxes about secret Chinese soldiers go viral. Coconuts Jakarta. https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/police-deny-entering-mosques-in- pursuit-of-rioters-ashoaxes-about-secret-chinese-soldiers-go-viral/ DFRLab.2019. Social Media Spam Tactics in Indonesia. Medium. https://medium.com/dfrlab/social-media-spam- tactics-in-indonesia-1fd0beb8d5dd Freedom House. 2019. Freedom of the Net: Indonesia. Freedom House. https://freedomhouse.org/country/indonesia/freedom-net/2019#footnote3_1f5qztt Green House. 2019. Indonesia’s Social Media Landscape: An Overview. Green House. https://greenhouse.co/blog/indonesias-social-media-landscape-anoverview/#:~:text=Facebook%2Downed%20WhatsApp%20and%20Japanese,has%2090 %20million%20Indonesian%20users.. Juniarto, D.2018. The Muslim Cyber Army: what is it and what does it want. Indonesia at Melbourne. https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/the-muslim-cyber-army-whatis-it-and-what-does-it-want/ Kemp, S. 2020. Digital 2020: Indonesia. DataReportal. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-indonesia. Lamb, K. 2018a. 'I felt disgusted': inside Indonesia's fake Twitter account. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/23/indonesias-fake-twitter-accountfactories-jakarta- politic Lamb, K. 2018b. Muslim Cyber Army: a 'fake news' operation designed to derail Indonesia's leader. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/13/muslim-cyberarmy-a-fake-news- operation-designed-to-bring-down-indonesias-leader Lamb, K. 2018c. Bali switches off internet services for 24 hours for New Year’s quiet reflection. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/15/baliswitches-off-internet-services-24-hours-new- year Lamb, K. 2019. Fake news spikes in Indonesia ahead of elections. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/20/fake-news-spikes-in-indonesia-aheadof-elections. Lipson, D. 2018. Indonesia's 'buzzers' paid to spread propaganda as political elite wage war ahead of election. ABC. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-13/indonesian-buzzerspaid-to-spread-propaganda-ahead- of-election/9928870. 192

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