The episodes of a facebook group for information sharing in the Ambon 2011 conflict prevention movement, Indonesia

ABSTRACT

This research demonstrates the episodes of social media use in a conflict prevention movement in Ambon, Indonesia. Utilizing data collected from interviews and a secret Facebook group used for information sharing, three episodes of social media use throughout the stages of the movement are discussed. First, the rise of social media use describes reasons motivating the movement actors to create the Facebook group. Second, the peak of social media use illustrates the usage of the Facebook group for sharing information and coordinating acts to clarify rumors circulating in the public. Third, as the conflict subsides, the Facebook group is in a non-activity mode. It becomes a repository of information and experiences gained during the movement, which are retrievable if the conflict returns. The network established during the conflict prevention movement remains and gives rise to later movements in the post-conflict Ambon.

KEYWORDS:

• Facebook
• conflict
• social movement
• social media
• information sharing
• Indonesia

Acknowledgements

The first author would like to thank Prof Rich Ling at Nanyang Technological University for reviewing the earlier version of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Abdul Rohman is a PhD candidate at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. His research interests are social movements and social media use in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia. Prior joining the doctoral program, he managed projects related to the use of ICT for peace and gender equality in Indonesia [email: [email protected]].

Natalie Pang is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS). Prior to joining IPS, Natalie worked briefly at The Gallup Organization before joining Nanyang Technological University as Assistant Professor at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. She has been Principal Investigator for externally funded projects and research centers, including the Centre of Social Media Innovations for Communities (COSMIC), Social Media in Civic Engagement (SMICE), and Bukit Brown Cemetery and Citizen Documentation [email: [email protected]].

Dyah Pitaloka is a lecturer at the Department of Indonesian Studies, School of Languages and Cultures, University of Sydney. Her research interests are: cultural aspects of health, marginalization, and social change, with an emphasis on how various social, educational, economic, religious, and policy contexts contribute to structural disparities in society, particularly in Indonesia and Singapore [email: [email protected]].

Notes

1 Public transportation to these places is costly and scarce. Participants sometimes had unstable internet connections in their locations; in these cases, phone calls were preferred to Skype and WhatsApp interviews.