Government Communication in Indonesia Through Social Media: Learning CERC in Dealing with Pandemic

¹ Master of Government Affairs and Administration, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
² Departement of Communication Science, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia
³ Department of Political Science, University of Visayas, Philippines

^* Corresponding author: dianekarahmawati93@gmail.com; dianekarahmawati@umy.ac.id

Abstract

This study aims to analyze government communication during the Covid-19 pandemic through social media. This study uses qualitative methods and secondary data obtained through documentation techniques. The unit of analysis for this research is the official social media accounts and websites of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, and the Covid-19 Task Force. The findings show that in the 2019-2020 pandemic, the government is experiencing stuttering and has not been able to carry out crisis communication properly through official social media, even though it already had regulations on crisis communication and management in disaster management. In the 2020-2021, the implementation of crisis communication through official social media can be seen with the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) model which integrates risk communication and crisis communication. Three communication indicators in social media have high scores: be right, be capable, and promote action. Meanwhile, 3 communication indicators in social media have low scores: be first, be emphatic, show respect. This shows that communication indicators related to the community are still lacking compared to communication indicators related to the government. Government apparatus must understand the operational level, not only the conceptual level.