Micro-celebrity participation and risk communication in Indonesia

Abstract

Information dissemination in the media, specifically social media, is one of the critical channels of information related to the COVID-19 outbreak sought by the public. The information presented has been related to accurate and reliable situation reports and false information in various forms, not only text-based but also audio and visual. The chaos of data, coupled with a central response that seemed unprepared, shaped the Indonesian community’s perceptions of the COVID-19 outbreak. This fact related to the massive number of internet users in Indonesia is one aspect of the government’s decision, in this case BNPB (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana; officially National Disaster Management Authority), to engage strong social media influencers. The government collaborated with some influencers to enable public engagement through online social media platforms in the context of COVID-19—two of them being @dr.tirta and @rachelvennya. The platforms also gained more visibility after being appointed COVID-19 influencers. They updated information about COVID-19 on their social media accounts with picture posts and Instagram stories, either individually or in collaboration with others. This study aims to analyse the practice of the Indonesian government’s agency using micro-celebrity to deploy a risk communication frame and the delivery of the message by a celebrated person.

Investigating the Dark Side of Social Media Marketing: Case of Cyberbullying on Micro Celebrities

“…So, it seems that victims of cyberbullying are gaining financial benefits because their name and profile goes viral instead of getting psychological hurt (Situmorang, 2019). This is the origin of the appearance of some micro celebrities who uses social networking sites, blogs and videos in order to reach a superstar status (Sadasri, 2020).…”

“…• Reached micro celebrities: a designation as a celebrity based on a person's decision to consciously raise their position, visibility, and popularity. • Recognized micro celebrities: a title given to a celebrity as a result of media coverage, such as blog post rumors or paparazzi (Sadasri, 2020).…”

Sociocultural Factors in Times of Global Crisis

“…Reviewing different authors, it is identified that, Jimenez et al 2021) considered that in times of global crisis within society great uncertainty and lack of information are created, which motivates people to increase their search for information. For that reason, the dissemination of information in the various conventional means of communication, social networks and specifically the social network Twitter is one of the critical information channels through which the public seeks information to learn about issues concerning the global crisis, such as COVID-19 (Sadasri, 2020). So, it can be said that social networks are digital platforms used by people with the desire to consume and share information on various topics such as social, commercial, economic and political (Ghounane, 2020).…”