- 22/05/2024
- Category: Commentaries
Author: Jasmine Noor Putri
Editor: M Perdana Karim
Social media has always played a pivotal role in elections, including the 2024 Indonesian General elections. Its significance has surged with the advent of popular platforms like TikTok and the expansion of social media strategies used not only by presidential candidates but also their supporters. With 66.8 million millennials and 45.8% Gen Z voters constituting 56.5% of Indonesia’s electorate, social media has emerged as a prominent arena for garnering new voters or influencing existing ones.[i] Tech-savvy younger demographics are leaving their imprint, infusing their generation’s distinct flair into supporting their preferred presidential candidate. These campaign tactics vary widely, from viral dance challenges to youth-led online communities, with a particular focus on the “K-popfication” of Anies Baswedan’s 2024 election campaign. This article aims to delve into how Anies Baswedan’s campaign team and supporters employed K-pop cultural elements in his political campaign on social media and the resulting impact. The central argument posits that the K-popfication of his political campaign bolstered his social media traction and support from K-pop enthusiasts, particularly on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Viral is Key
Political campaigns now heavily lean on social media to bolster candidates’ electability due to its ability to reach a vast audience swiftly. In the context of political elections, achieving virality has become pivotal in appealing to a broader spectrum of voters and, consequently, securing victory. Notably, the role of virality and social media activity in high-profile elections has been exemplified by Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election or Leni Robredo in the 2022 Philippines Presidential election.[ii]
This trend was evident in the 2024 Indonesian elections, where each candidate tried to craft and maintain an online persona to get viral and attract more voters. Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s campaign employed a “gemoy” (cute in Indonesian) persona and viral dances to engage the masses. Ganjar Pranowo and Mahfud MD’s campaign utilized short narrative videos and a popular three-finger salute (03 being their candidate number) to achieve virality across platforms. Lastly, Anies Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar’s campaign team leveraged Anies’ cats and hosted TikTok live sessions to garner support from the general public. In the month preceding the February 14 election, Anies experienced a surge in social media popularity, particularly on TikTok and X, driven by his TikTok livestreams which amassed over 720,000 views.[iii] It was during his inaugural TikTok live session that the X account (@aniesbubble) was established, quickly gaining viral status. Since then, the account has amassed over 231,000 followers, serving as a hub for Anies’ activities and campaign support.[iv]
‘K-popfication’ of politics: The Case of Anies Baswedan’s Presidential Campaign
K-pop fans have never shied away from politics, utilizing their substantial platforms to advocate for political causes, such as the #BlackLivesMatter movement in 2020.[v] However, in the context of Anies’ campaign, a unique twist emerged wherein non-K-pop-related topics were approached similarly to K-pop content. This subsection explains three instances where Anies’ supporters integrated K-pop practices into his virtual campaign, namely through AniesBubble, HaveAniesDay, and the Olppaemi Project.
- Anies Bubble
The X account @aniesbubble was established during Anies’ inaugural TikTok live session in December 2023, where Korean translations of select clips from the live stream were posted. Subsequently, the account positioned itself as a dedicated platform for Anies Baswedan and to post campaign updates. In K-pop culture, translation accounts are made by fans to translate their idols’ social media contents into different languages and help communicate it to their global fans. Modelling itself after K-pop groups’ translation (or ‘bubble’) fan accounts, AniesBubble reposted short clips from Anies’ TikTok lives with Korean captions in their tweets, altering the fan culture to fit Anies’ context.
A viral tweet by Anies Bubble of a clip from his TikTok live with a Korean caption
The admins of these translation accounts typically adhere to a format for posting translations and assign representative emojis to the K-pop idols they reference in their tweets. AniesBubble adopted the owl emoji as Anies’ representative symbol, which supporters subsequently utilized to represent Anies or their support for him on social media. From what has started to be a small K-pop inspired account, AniesBubble evolved into a sizable online community for his supporters, amplifying his social media presence through real-time campaign updates, book recommendations, and other initiatives. This centralized ‘update’ account mirrors K-pop groups’ fan accounts, facilitating easy access for new Anies-Imin supporters to stay informed about their activities.
An example of a K-pop group’s translation account tweet, a format which is also used by Anies Bubble
- HaveAniesDay
HaveAniesDay functions as the subsidiary account of AniesBubble, serving as the ‘project’ arm for AniesBubble’s initiatives. While AniesBubble provides general campaign updates, HaveAniesDay executes specific campaign projects. This includes the creation of merchandise, Instagram filters, and the establishment of their website, haveaniesday.com. The website features comprehensive information about Anies’ candidacy, campaign pledges, past achievements, personal recommendations, and even quick count results. The announcement of the website’s launch garnered over 66,000 likes on X.[vi] This practice mirrors common K-pop fan behavior, where fans create dedicated websites or resources for their idols on platforms like Notion or Carrd.
Haveaniesday.com website
- Olppaemi Project
The Olppaemi Project comprises a group of Anies-Imin supporters (also known as Humanies) who organize campaign events reminiscent of K-pop gatherings.[vii] They arrange videotron placements, cafe events, exhibitions, and dispatch food trucks to Anies-Imin campaign rallies. Through their social media channels, they amassed donations exceeding Rp200,000,000 for these initiatives, illustrating the ability to translate online support into tangible campaign projects.[viii] Inspired by K-pop events such as cafe gatherings and food truck promotions, these initiatives garnered significant media coverage and received endorsement from Anies himself.[ix]
Food truck arranged by Olppaemi Project
Reflecting on the K-popfication of Anies-Imin’ Campaign
Despite Anies and Imin’s loss in the presidential election to Prabowo and Gibran, the aforementioned accounts persist in their support for Anies and Imin. AniesBubble even hosted an X space session with Anies, focusing on youth participation in politics and expressing gratitude for their support during the campaign period. Notably, these Anies support accounts were created voluntarily and without prior affiliation with Anies-Imin’s campaign team. Anies himself lauded the organic growth of these campaign initiatives, underscoring the emergence of unique avenues for youth involvement in political processes.[x]
South Korean media has also taken note of the ‘K-popfication’ of the Anies-Imin campaign, highlighting the utilization of K-pop-inspired promotion through food truck support and the moniker “Park Ahn Nice” given to Anies by his supporters.[xi] Ultimately, the ‘K-popfication’ of the Anies-Imin presidential campaign served as a means to engage young voters actively in politics by fostering fun campaign projects and relatable social media content. The evolution of this K-pop-inspired phenomenon over recent months signifies its role beyond being a mere political campaigning tool, instead catalyzing increased youth-led grassroots involvement in the political landscape. In conclusion, the integration of K-pop culture into Anies Baswedan’s 2024 presidential campaign in Indonesia underscores the evolving landscape of political engagement, particularly among youth demographics. Through platforms like AniesBubble, HaveAniesDay, and the Olppaemi Project, supporters creatively harnessed K-pop practices to bolster Anies and Imin’s candidacy, amplifying their social media presence and fostering tangible campaign initiatives. Despite the eventual outcome of the election, the legacy of the ‘K-popfication’ of their campaign lies in its ability to galvanize young voters and cultivate grassroots involvement in political processes. This phenomenon transcends traditional campaigning, highlighting the transformative power of cultural fusion in modern political discourse.
[i] Wahid, A. (2024) Did Prabowo Subianto’s Tiktok Makeover impact the Indonesian election results?, ANU Reporter. Available at: https://reporter.anu.edu.au/all-stories/did-prabowo-subiantos-tiktok-makeover-impact-the-indonesian-election-results (Accessed: 13 March 2024).
[ii] Romero, P. (2022) The young Filipinos using music and fandom in the elections, VICE. Available at: https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7dkkj/philippines-president-elections-ppop-kpop-fandom-genz (Accessed: 14 March 2024).
[iii] Baharudin, H., Arshad, A. and Sorieaatmadja, W. (2024) Avatars, Buzzers and cats: Can going viral win the election for Indonesia’s candidates?, The Straits Times. Available at: https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/2024/01/indonesia-election/index.html?shell (Accessed: 16 March 2024).
[iv] 아니스 (@aniesbubble) · x (n.d.) X. Available at: https://twitter.com/aniesbubble (Accessed: 16 March 2024).
[v] Putri, J. (2020) An alternative form of youth activism?: How tiktok users & K-pop stans pranked Donald Trump at his Rally – Center for Digital Society, Center for Digital Society Universitas Gadjah Mada. Available at: https://digitalsociety.id/2020/09/23/an-alternative-form-of-youth-activism-how-tiktok-users-k-pop-stans-pranked-donald-trump-at-his-rally/3027/ (Accessed: 14 March 2024).
[vi] 아니스 (@aniesbubble). (2024) [Twitter] 12 February. Available at: https://x.com/aniesbubble/status/1757072967929127393?s=20 (Accessed: 14 March 2024)
[vii] Putriningtias, A. (2024) Semarak Kampanye Akbar, Olppaemi Project buka exhibition Anies Baswedan, Medcom.id. Available at: https://www.medcom.id/gaya/community/PNgaa1Ak-semarak-kampanye-akbar-olppaemi-project-buka-exhibition-anies-baswedan (Accessed: 14 March 2024).
[viii] Olppaemi Project (@olpproject). (2024) [Twiter] 16 January. Available at: https://x.com/olpproject/status/1747281749296783716?s=20 (Accessed: 14 March 2024)
[ix] Saubani, A. (2024) Olppaemi Project Penuhi Janji Kirim food truck di acara desak anies, Anies Terharu, Republika Online. Available at: https://pemilukita.republika.co.id/berita/s7g4lp409/olppaemi-project-penuhi-janji-kirim-food-truck-di-acara-desak-anies-anies-terharu (Accessed: 14 March 2024).
[x] Putra, H.R. (2024) Anies Baswedan Ke Pendukungnya di Anies Bubble: You are making a revolution, Tempo. Available at: https://nasional.tempo.co/read/1837856/anies-baswedan-ke-pendukungnya-di-anies-bubble-you-are-making-a-revolution (Accessed: 15 March 2024).
[xi] Media Korsel Soroti julukan K-pop anies, Bahas Juga Prabowo Dan Ganjar (2024) CNN Indonesia. Available at: https://www.cnnindonesia.com/internasional/20240212144815-113-1061505/media-korsel-soroti-julukan-k-pop-anies-bahas-juga-prabowo-dan-ganjar (Accessed: 15 March 2024).
