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View all search resultsDoxing is a threat to democracy
Free speech in Indonesia faces a growing threat as social media surveillance intensifies and doxing becomes normalized, whether by paid "buzzers", automated bots or establishment sympathizers.
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Cartoon on state digital surveillance (JP/T. Sutanto)
D
emocratic backsliding continues unabated in the country, marked most acutely by rapidly shrinking space for free speech. Time and again, legitimate criticism intended to hold power accountable has been met with aggressive retaliation designed to silence the messenger.
Earlier this month, a lecturer at Gadjah Mada University, which ranks second nationwide, posted a critique on X regarding the mass reassignment and demotion of Public Works Ministry officials, including the secretary-general.
The internal reshuffle followed a leaked document detailing a planned work trip to New York by minister Dody Hanggodo that included his wife and daughter on the delegation and coincided with the FIFA World Cup.
The lecturer’s post gained widespread traction, with netizens amplifying concerns over both the reshuffle and the inclusion of the minister’s family on an official trip.
Though the trip was ultimately canceled, a nightmare followed for the lecturer: She received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number threatening to expose her and her family's personal information unless she deleted the post. Refusing to be intimidated, she made the threat public on social media and signaled her intent to report the incident.
Dody subsequently denied any involvement in tracing or doxing the academic, claiming that he was the actual doxing victim when his itinerary was leaked online.
This is hardly an isolated incident. Earlier this year, members of the KASBI labor union reported online intimidation and doxing following a digital campaign inviting the public to join their May Day rally. Around the same time, Human Rights Watch documented doxing campaigns targeting a student media outlet for publishing content about Pride Month.
