Real Issue or Propaganda? Students’ Perspectives on Post Truth Phenomenon in Films
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15642/suluk.2025.7.1.43-62Keywords:
post truth, digital information, reader responseAbstract
The development of information technology has led an era called post truth, when a particular viewpoint is published, accepted as true, and causes other alternative truths to be rejected. It is important for digital citizen to be aware of the existence of such phenomena. This research aims at revealing the perspective of university students semester 6 at English Letters program, UIN Raden Mas Said Surakarta on post truth phenomenon emerging though social media as reflected in two films, Missing and Don’t Look Up. Using reader response approach and McIntire’s theory about post truth, the finding shows that students can generally notice post truth phenomenon in the society and are able to analyse how post truth are circulated. From the last steps of the research, it can be seen that more than half of the students demonstrated a critical and neutral stance, while the rest showed indifference, arguing that they did not know the person involved in the news. Meanwhile, most students showed greater concern and critical thinking when responding to the global issue presented in Don’t Look Up. This indicates that, in general, students demonstrated the necessary attitude—being critical and evaluative of the narratives circulating in the digital platforms.
Downloads
References
Ali, S. (1993). The reader-response approach: An alternative for teaching literature in a second language. Journal of Reading, 32(4), 288-296, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40017436
Annur, C.M. (September 06, 2023). Persentase penduduk usia 5 tahun ke atas yang pernah mengakses internet berdasarkan kelompok umur (2022). Databoks. https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2023/09/06/mayoritas-pengguna-internet-di-indonesia-berasal-dari-kelompok-usia-pekerja
Barnhart, B. (April 28, 2023). Social media demographics to inform your brand’s strategy in 2023. Sproutsocial. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/
Damiana. (Mei 23, 2024). Kisah jurnalis pembongkar skandal Burning Sun dihujat feminis-pelacur. CNBC Indonesia. https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/lifestyle/20240523022242-33-540694/kisah-jurnalis-pembongkar-skandal-burning-sun-dihujat-feminis-pelacur
Darmawan, A.P. & Pratiwi, I.E. (2024). Pengamat Ingatkan Ada “Negative Campaign” dan “Black Campaign”, Apa Itu?. Kompas.com. Diakses pada 25 April 2024 dari https://www.kompas.com/tren/read/2024/01/20/143000165/pengamat-ingatkan-ada-negative-campaign-dan-black-campaign-apa-itu-?page=all
Dixon, S.J. (2023). Global social network ranked number of users 2023. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/
Emmamadison24. (2019). Reporter who first broke ‘Burning Sun’ scandal appears to have gone missing + netizens fear for his safety. Diakses pada 25 April 2024 dari https://www.allkpop.com/article/2019/03/reporter-who-first-broke-burning-sun-scandal-appears-to-have-gone-missing-netizens-fear-for-his-safety.
Indainanto, Y.I., Bangun, I.C., & Nasution, F.A. (2025). Political Framing: TikTok as Media in Shaping Public Opinionon Presidential Candidatesin the 2024 Indonesia Presidential Election. JEPP, 2(1), pp. 16-32, https://jurnal.literasipublisher.co.id/index.php/jepp
Kellner, D. (1993). Film, Politics, and Ideology; Toward A Multiperspectival Film Theory. Routledge.
Lewandowsky, S., Ecker, U.K.H., & Cook, J. (2017). Beyond misinformation: Understanding and coping with the “Post-Truth” era. Journal of Applied Research in memory and Cognition, 6(4), 353-369, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2017.07.008
Mardiansyah, N. (2020). Post-truth dalam media sosial Indonesia ditinjau dari filsafat analitik John L. Austin. Repository UGM. https://etd.repository.ugm.ac.id/penelitian/detail/189000
McIntyre, L. (2018). Post-Truth. The MIT Press.
Miles, M.B., Huberman, A.M., & Saldana, J. (2004). Qualitative Data Analysis (3rd Ed.). Sage.
More, C. (2000). Understanding Industrial Revolution. Routledge.
Poulakidakos, S., Veneti, A. and Frangonikolopoulos, C. (2018). Post-truth, propaganda and the transformation of the spiral of silence. International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, 14 (3), https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/31323/9/propaganda_post-truth_final.pdf
Purba, H. & Sitorus, F.K. (2023). Truth, post truth, dan dinamikanya di Indonesia: Sebuah kajian literatur. Sosial Horizon: Jurnal Pendidikan Sosial, 10(1), 1-16
Rupert, P. (1981). Applying Reader response analysis in literature and film classes. Teaching German, 14(1), http://www.jstor.org/stable/3529919
Schaberg, C. (2018). The work of literature in an age of post-truth. Bloomsbury.
Sim, S. (2019). Post-Truth, Scepticism & Power. Palgrave Macmillan.
Stam, R. & Raengo, A. Eds. (2006). Adaptation and Mis-adaptation: Film, Literature, and Social Discourses. A Companion to Literature and Film. Blackwell Publishing.
Wahyono, S.B., Wirasti, M.K., Ratmono, B.M. (2020). Audience reception of hoax information on social media in the Post-Truth era. Jurnal Komunikasi Indonesia, 10(2), 110-124
Xu, M., David, J.M., & Kim, S.H. (2018). The fourth industrial revolution: Opportunities and Challenges. Industrial Journal of Financial Research, 9(2), 90-95, https://doi.org/10.5430/ijfr.v9n2p90
Yalcinkaya, B., Donmez, A.H., Aydin, F., & Kayali, N. (2018). A survey about university students’ perception of post-truth on social media. Journal of Awarness, 3(4), 53-64, 10.26809/joa.2018445555
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Shabrina An Adzhani, Simon Ntamwana
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories, pre-print sites, or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater dissemination of published work.
