DIGITAL ACTIVISM IN PROTECTING LOCAL COMMUNITIES FROM ECOCIDE THROUGH HASHTAG SAVESANGIHEISLAND ON TWITTER

Abstract

The extractive industry in Indonesia has become a priority to attract investors. The presence of an exploitative industry is feared to cause ecocide and the destruction of natural resources and ecosystems. This ecocide also occurred in the Sangihe Islands. The government gave gold mining exploitation to PT. Tambang Mas Sangihe (TMS). These concessions led to rejection and resistance from the people of the Sangihe Islands. The resistance was through demonstrations and Twitter, with the main actor being The Network of Mining Advocacy (Jatam) through the @Jatamnas account. This study aims to analyze @Jatamnas’ digital activism against ecocide in the Sangihe Islands. This study used the qualitative approach with the virtual ethnography method. The data used is the content of the @Jatamnas account on Twitter in the period June-December 2021. The results show that the campaign with the hashtags #SaveSangiheIsland provoked netizen reactions to support the Sangihe communities. The online conversations at #SaveSangiheIsland on the Jatamnas account revealed the dynamics of the need to embed local communities from the clutches of the oligarchs who hide behind the terminology of investment and employment. Furthermore, the conversation also tends to weaken the local community struggle because of the many accounts suspected to be pro-government which enter into the discussion with local wisdom-biased. However, the #SaveSangiheIsland serves as a public space for open debates on ecological issues.