Observer: Personal attacks on Prabowo on social media are not criticism
Ayip Tayana highlighted the NPD label on the President and said emotional posts often draw high engagement online.
Political observer Ayip Tayana said personal attacks on President Prabowo Subianto on social media do not qualify as criticism, but as insults. He cited the use of the term narcissistic personality disorder, or NPD, against Prabowo as an attack that does not address the president's policies or actions. The Executive Director of Indeks Data Nasional said criticism in a democracy should be directed at government decisions and performance, not at attempts to inflame public emotion. He said negative and emotional content often gets high engagement amid information flows accelerated by social media and AI. Ayip also said the noise on social media does not automatically reflect the views of the majority, citing Prabowo's 58 percent victory and a Poltracking survey that recorded 74.2 percent trust and 72.2 percent satisfaction.