Representation of Police in Kanjuruhan Stampede

Abstract

This study examines the National Police's representation in a Twitter video (@DivHumasPolri) after the Kanjuruhan Stadium stampede, where over 130 lives were lost. The police faced criticism for allegedly using tear gas during the incident, in violation of FIFA regulations. The official National Police account responded with a 1:09 video showing police assisting the stampede victims. This research employs Hall's (1997) representation framework to elucidate the intended meaning of the video producers and multimodal analysis to find that the police use semiotic resources to represent themselves in the Kanjuruhan video. Police tried to identify themselves as key helpers for the Kanjuruhan victims, also victims during the incident, and partners of the supporters. National Police, as the video producer, was able to select relevant messages to maintain their public image and simultaneously communicate smoothly to the public regarding their position on the incident.