72 Hours of Social Media Silence: How Officials’ Online Inaction Undermined Disaster Management in Sumatra
“I lost contact with my family for three days. I couldn’t contact them. I just couldn’t,” Khalida Zia’s voice cracked as she recounted the day floods engulfed much of Sumatra.
Speaking to Magdalene over the phone from Aceh, December 2, just days after the disaster, she sobbed as the memory caught up with her. “There was no signal at all. No electricity. It was dark. And water was everywhere. Mud, water, and mud.”
In the early hours of November 26, floodwaters began swallowing villages across Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. By dawn, Khalida’s family home in Bireuen was already inundated with mud and water. Electricity towers collapsed. Entire districts went silent. From the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, Khalida could only watch the disaster unfold through fragmented news reports, unsure whether her parents were alive.
“The first day I realized I couldn’t reach them, I immediately became extremely distressed,” she said. “My only information came from the media.”
With barely any knowledge about the situation nor directions from authorities, Khalida did the only thing she could think of.
“I initiated a movement to collect aid through donations through my personal account. It turned out that that was the only aid that had arrived then.”
Later, she realized that she had initiated what were some of the first aid efforts in the region in a shocking vacuum of official action or even acknowledgement of the disaster. When volunteers finally reached evacuation sites, what they found was devastating.
“At the camps, people said no one had come to help them,” Khalida recalled. “The local government had not come at all.”
“I’ve become like a governor. I’m constantly being contacted now. Because I was the only one who went to the evacuation sites quickly and organized things, even leading the response without any documentation.”
With little to no warning of the disaster and all connection cut off physically and online, this raises the all-important question: what were official government channels communicating and doing during the crucial first 72 hours of the Sumatra flood disasters?
Also read: Kala Bantuan Tak Datang: Relawan Topang Sumatera di 72 Jam Pertama
Why This Story Needed to Be Told
On November 28, the head of the National Agency of Disaster Management (BNPB) said the disaster was not as “harrowing” as portrayed on social media. Subsequently, President Prabowo Subianto announced on December 1 that a ‘national disaster status’ was ‘unnecessary’ as the situation was ‘improving’. Foreign Minister Sugiono further rejected foreign aid on December 5, stressing the Indonesian government’s disaster management capabilities.
As of 19 December, fatalities have reached 1,071, with a total of 111,620 displaced, including 58,333 women (52 percent).
Official accounts seemed to portray a version of the disaster that was controlled and sanitized. In stark contrast, interview testimonies and accounts circulating on social platforms painted a horrific picture of destruction and neglect. This gap between official narratives and lived realities is what prompted our analysis of the Sumatra floods through a social media lens.
To understand how this gap was produced and sustained during the most critical phase of the disaster, this analysis turns to social media as a key site of public communication in the first 72 hours.
Social media, particularly Instagram, has become one of the primary channels through which public officials in Indonesia communicate with the public. Presidents, ministers, governors, and local leaders routinely use social media platforms to issue statements, document field visits, and signal government responses during moments of crisis. In practice, social media now functions as an extension of public communication, shaping how disasters are acknowledged, framed, and prioritized in real time.
Social media also plays a central role for the public during emergencies. As floods disrupted electricity and telecommunications across Sumatra, many residents turned to social platforms to seek updates, safety information, and indications of government action.
For these reasons, our analysis focuses on officials’ social media communication and does not assess other channels such as press releases, mass media reporting, or internal government coordination.
In this article, ‘silence within the first 72 hours’ refers specifically to the absence of meaningful and needs oriented communication on officials’ social media accounts during this critical period, during which clear information, guidance, and leadership were most urgently needed.
Article 26 of the 2007 Indonesian Disaster Management Law mandates the prioritization of vulnerable groups. Clause 2 of Article 55 specifically defines this to include the elderly, people with disabilities, children, and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
Women are up to 14 times more likely than men to die in disasters. This is largely attributed to women’s disproportionate responsibility for caring for other vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. This limits their mobility in evacuation and increases their physical and psychological strain in the aftermath of a disaster.
These risks are compounded by unequal access to aid, inadequate hygiene products and sanitation, and heightened exposure to sexual harassment and domestic violence, particularly when relocation sites lack gender-segregated accommodation, according to Andy Yentriyani, Chair of Komnas Perempuan.
Historically, there has been an absence of governmental accountability for its poor performance in disaster management, particularly in delays, gaps in aid distribution, and a lack of effort to prioritize vulnerable groups.
Amid mounting criticism of the government’s handling of the Sumatra floods and calls to open doors to foreign aid, we sought to understand the gap between the government’s promises and its delivery of rescue efforts.
This included assessing the conditions of affected victims, how much government aid actually reached them, and its effectiveness. Adopting the methods used in Universitas Indonesia’s ‘Crisis Communication in Non-Tectonic Tsunami Disaster Management Policy research, we wanted to evaluate their social media presence and absence, as they contain important governance clues that reveal how institutions define a crisis, prioritize actors, and perform coordination.
In our analysis, we will be particularly attentive to the government’s effort to protect vulnerable groups – especially women – and to meet their specific needs.
Reality Check: Interview Testimonies
The first step of our investigation was to interview witnesses to explore the lived realities in Sumatra.
We sought to interview victims directly, but unstable internet access and prolonged blackouts in disaster zones limited us to speaking with volunteers. Many were moving between severely affected areas and those less impacted to distribute aid.
We interviewed five volunteers in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra. It is important to note that Aceh was also one of the hardest-hit regions in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that killed nearly a quarter of a million people.
And here’s what the volunteers have to say:
Also read: Kisah Perempuan yang Selamat dari Bencana: Jalan Kaki Puluhan KM, Kelaparan, Melihat Banyak Jenazah
How We Analysed the First 72 Hours
The testimonies reveal how the government’s help has been inadequate across North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh.
To understand the government’s perspective, we examined the Instagram accounts of 15 government officials. We have specifically targeted Instagram as it has been the main medium of communication for politicians in Indonesia.
The accounts analysed here belong to officials and agencies that are legally and structurally responsible for disaster response in Indonesia, from national to provincial authorities.
Accounts examined include national-level politicians and institutions with decision-making authority over disaster relief efforts. Among them are seven governors and mayors representing the regions most severely affected, based on fatality data published by BNPB.
According to UNESCO, the first 72 hours is the most critical timeframe for disaster response and emergency relief efforts. These roles are mandated to appear and act in the first hours of a disaster. Our analysis strives not to assess individual personalities, but to examine how Indonesia’s disaster response operates through its formal institutions.
Guided by UNESCO’s 72 hour rule and Indonesia’s disaster management law, we decided to track national institutions and politicians’ posts from 25 to 27 November (the first 72 hours) using a content-monitoring sheet. Each entry was coded by content type such as graphics, reels, or marked as N/A if no post was made.
We also recorded posting absences and irrelevance across the first three days of the disaster. Whether or not the content had any mentions of vulnerable groups and their needs were also recorded.
Through analysing their content, we can understand what the government chose to highlight as a priority, the public narrative it seeks to construct and what it chose not to show at all.
Social Media Monitoring Findings: What Has the Government Done Within the 72 Hour Timeframe?
Finding I: Of the 15 government officials’ accounts we examined, almost half did not post about the flood within the first 72 hours. Three others posted late within that same period.
Among those who failed to post were President Prabowo Subianto; Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf; the Ministry of Social Affairs; the Ministry of Health; North Aceh Regent H. Ismail A. Jalil (Ayah Wa); Sibolga Mayor Akhmad Syukri Nazry Penarik; and East Aceh Regent Iskandar Usman Al-Farlaky.
Notably, the President, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Social Affairs are among the accounts with the largest followings, followed by the Governor of Aceh.
Indeed, the most recent reel Prabowo published nearest to the dates was a celebratory reel wishing followers “Happy Galungan and Kuningan” for the Hindus in the country. All posts from Muzakir Manaf in the period of November 25th – 27th were about officials’ visits such as a formal meeting with the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Djamari Chaniago, and a courtesy visit with Nurul Akmal, an Acehnese weightlifting athlete. The Ministry of Social Affairs only published its first disaster-related content on 30 November, about its distribution of logistics and communal kitchens for flood victims in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. The Ministry of Health only had one post titled ‘Pray for Sumatra’ on Nov 28.
Their silence on the disaster during this critical period represents a missed opportunity to disseminate urgent information, provide guidance to affected communities, and demonstrate institutional leadership during the most time-sensitive phase of disaster response.
None of the posts addressed vulnerable groups’ needs nor offered practical information such as how to access assistance, identify evacuation routes, or locate temporary shelters.
After identifying those who posted, we examined the activities featured in their content. Excluding infographics, those that showcased activities involved mostly operational fieldwork. Some content also portrayed multiple activities.
Activities: What were they seen doing?
Finding 2: Most on-the-ground content focused on showcasing presence, with limited emphasis on direct engagement or the needs of vulnerable groups.
While posts from agencies like the disaster management agency Basarnas featured hands-on engagement such as evacuation and rescue efforts, many officials, often accompanied by other officials, delete were seen listening passively or speaking to cameras in the disaster sites or amid crowds. Most interactions with civilians were in the form of quick montages instead of longer forms, emphasizing quantity over quality of conversations.
Notably, posts that focused on greeting or comforting civilians disproportionately featured women and children. There was also minimal content documenting conditions inside refugee camps or visits to evacuation sites during the first three days.
None of the posts addressed vulnerable groups’ needs nor offered practical information such as how to access assistance, identify evacuation routes, or locate temporary shelters.
Visual Framing and captions: Affective tone of the posts?
With the activities identified, we then examined how these activities and information were framed.
We examined the visuals used, visual framing, and caption tone.
They are then sorted into coding types.
Our aim was to assess whether government responses amounted to performative gestures rather than substantive action.
Identifying activities allowed us to examine the visual framing and how it shapes viewers’ perceptions, along with the accompanying captions. The latter plays an important role in providing additional information, reinforcing messages, and making content searchable to reach wider audiences.
Northwestern University researcher Iza Ding defines “performative government” (or “performative governance”) as the state’s theatrical use of visual, verbal, and gestural symbols to project an image of good governance, distinct from the actual achievements of substantive policy goals.
Identifying visual framing enables us to examine how officials’ content shapes viewers’ perceptions.
Finding 3: Across all posts, there was a strong tendency toward heroic and symbolic portrayals.
Nearly half of officials’ posts employed heroic or symbolic visual framing rather than needs-oriented communication.
Heroic framing was commonly produced through close-up shots of officials walking or traveling through heavy rain, mud, or damaged terrain. Some officials were well-dressed and shielded by their team with an umbrella, while those around them were visibly drenched. This further reinforces an us-versus-them dynamic that positioned officials as elevated figures rather than co-participants in disaster response.
Most piece-to-camera speeches did not include concrete promises, next steps, or policy recommendations.
Unlike Basarnas that were seen engaging in evacuation and recovery, most officials were merely speaking or surveying. Some were sending prayers or condolences.
Many of the officials’ speeches often revolved around descriptions of the situation or mere recital of statistics such as the number of casualties or infrastructure destroyed. Some even attributed their failure to access certain areas to external factors, with some talking about their own achievements or how hard disaster management and recovery efforts have been.
There were those who engaged in rather dramatic movements and heroic portrayals of themselves.
Their emphasis of their physical presence at hard-to-reach disaster sites and their emphasis on the severity of the disaster creates a persona-centered framing of endurance and sacrifice. This undermines rescue plans and outcomes, rendering their actions symbolic. Content showing snippets and montages of meetings (bureaucratic), often in elaborate, grand meeting rooms, also portrays formality and bureaucracy rather than practicality.
In terms featuring of civilians, we noted a high tendency for officials to choose vulnerable groups like women and children. These interactions were mostly in the form of quick montages, without sustained engagement or dialogue. This does not only amplify heroic framing by positioning the all-male officials as benevolent, paternal figures, it also disguises reassurance as assistance – without addressing the true needs of the vulnerable.
Captions analysis
Finally, we examined the captions accompanying posts on these official accounts.
Captions play a crucial role in contextualising visual content, reinforcing key messages, and increasing visibility through platform search and algorithmic reach.
Our analysis found that captions consistently reproduced the same performative patterns observed in the visuals.
Captions tended to be official-centered, emphasizing achievements like completion of site visits and meetings, rather than victim-centered accounts detailing needs met, people reached, or remaining gaps.
Several captions engaged in explicit self-praise or institutional praise, reinforcing authority and competence without offering practical information.
Others repeatedly attributed the disaster to “extreme weather,” shifting attention away from structural or policy factors. Taken together, captions were used less as tools to disseminate urgent updates, guidance, or resources, and more as extensions of visual performance.
Also read: Banjir di Sumatera Utara: Ketika ‘Apa Kabar?’ Datang Terlambat
Soap Opera-like Empathy
As shown through our analysis, these visual and textual strategies reveal a consistent pattern: government social media communication during the first 72 hours prioritized image-building over needs-led response. Heroic and symbolic portrayals created the impression of activity, while obscuring the absence of rescue outcomes and attention to vulnerable groups. Women and children’s vulnerability was repeatedly mobilized to humanise officials and construct paternal authority, yet their specific needs remained largely unaddressed.
This despite the fact that the women’s urgent hygiene needs such as clean water, sanitary pads, diapers and clean clothes were clearly overlooked, as food aids were prioritized, often in the forms of instant noodles.
Sara, a medical volunteer in Padang said when officials did show up, they seemed to focus more on optics.
“They did come, bringing big banners and posters,” Sara said. “But instead of helping survivors or listening to them, they were often more focused on creating social media content and presenting their image.”
This mode of communication does not only marginalize those most affected, but also enables officials to deflect responsibility, both for immediate relief failures and for the structural environmental conditions that intensified the disaster, weakening accountability at the very moment it is most urgently required.
Sari Moniq Agustin, a communications lecturer at the University of Indonesia, observed that these posts consistently prioritise showcasing officials’ actions—whether “leading” coordination efforts in the field or staging performative moments of “saving” citizens. This obsession with featuring the officials’ face has become a significant issue.
She said public communication should be oriented toward meeting the needs of the people. In a disaster context, this includes emergency updates, safety instructions, logistics, and aid information, she said. Political communication, on the other hand, is merely occupied with polishing the image and legitimacy of those in power.
“When an official’s face dominates the frame, it signals an artificial empathy because it relies solely on symbols,” Moniq told Magdalene. “This reflects how the current government views its people: [its] symbol of [power] matter more than realities on the ground. For me, this is a clear form of visual exploitation.”
The government tends to exaggerate signs associated with empathy such as wearing field vests or posting photos of site visits while losing the substance of actual, tangible action. Moniq likens the government’s visual narrative to a soap opera script. Everything appears staged to create the impression that the government is “hard at work,” even as crucial information for the public remains blocked.
This gridlock becomes even more evident when the President and key responsible agencies, such as the National Disaster Management Authority (BNPB), the Ministry of Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Health, remain silent on social media during the critical early hours of a crisis. For Moniq, the silence of these state institutions sends a loud and clear message about poor internal coordination.
“When a state institution remains silent, it means they are waiting for coordination. It shows that their only concern is the government’s image,” she said.
This “waiting for orders” culture suggests that public safety is secondary to the bureaucrats’ fear of making a mistake that could damage their superiors’ reputation. This stands in stark contrast to disaster-ready countries like Japan, where the government acts tactically by providing early warnings and emergency contacts for logistics and aid across all media platforms instantly.
Even after the three days, the visual narrative constructed was more about personal image. The faces of presidents, governors, and mayors frequently dominate the frames of photos and videos, with compositions designed to highlight their physical presence above all else. One presidential staff, Agung Surahman, received a major backlash after posting a breezy and casual “A day in my life” video on Instagram to document the President’s visit to the disaster-impacted area, accompanied with a trending pop song often used by lifestyle influencers.
Good Communication Equals Accountability
Our findings reveal a systemic failures in which disaster communication serves political interests rather than the public good.
Best practice in disaster communication emphasises needs-led, victim-centred reporting that clearly outlines problems, available solutions, and real-time guidance; however, most official posts instead foregrounded officials’ own presence and symbolic actions.
In the first 72 hours of the Sumatra floods and landslides, official social media communication consistently prioritized visibility and image over responsibility and service, using social media platforms as stages for performance instead of tools for disseminating urgent information. Such practices carry real, potentially life-threatening consequences for vulnerable communities.
The prioritization of image-building over disaster rescue responsibilities has caused vulnerable groups to yet again fall victim to political agendas that exploit them. By framing themselves as fatherly, heroic figures on social media, officials not only humanize and celebrate their own presence but also deflect scrutiny from their responsibility to deliver concrete, needs-based solutions— both for disaster management and for vulnerable groups.
Similarly, repeated attributions of the disaster to “extreme weather” also created similar effects, framing the crisis as a natural inevitability rather than a disaster shaped by governance failures in land-use regulation and environmental management.
Several officials who acknowledged the floods were also vocal proponents of palm oil expansion — a sector repeatedly linked to deforestation, watershed degradation, and increased flood risk in Sumatra.
North Sumatera Governor Bobby Nasution has actively promoted palm oil cooperatives and logistics expansion as a development success. Similarly, Agam Regent Benni Warlis publicly celebrated large-scale oil palm replanting programs as symbols of productive governance.
Nationally, President Prabowo Subianto continued to defend palm oil expansion during the height of the floods, describing Indonesia as “blessed” by palm oil and dismissing concerns over deforestation, even as the environment and forestry ministry acknowledged that poor forest management had aggravated flooding in affected regions.
Looking Ahead: Reclaiming Disaster Communication for the Public Good
For disaster communication to fulfil its public function, it must begin with real action and move toward victim-centered engagement that prioritizes accountability above all else. Improving disaster communication is an important step in disaster reforms management.
Even more important is the government’s commitment to stop deforestation to prevent worse ecological disasters across Indonesia is a full stop.
“My biggest hope is that the government stops clearing forests for corporate interests, because it’s the people—especially women—who bear the consequences,” said Sarah Uzlifah, a medical volunteer in Padang, after witnessing widespread health issues among displaced flood victims in evacuation camps.
This article is part of Magdalene’s data journalism series. Read the other stories here.
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