Digital Vigilantism in the Wake of the Collapse of Privacy: Netnographic Evidence from Comments on Indonesian Infotainment YouTube Channels

Abstrak

Abstrak:  Studi ini bertujuan menganalisis bagaimana keruntuhan batas privasi dalam video YouTube infotainment memicu terbentuknya vigilantisme digital lunak dalam budaya komentar netizen Indonesia. Penelitian menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif netnografi terhadap 845 komentar pada video “[FULL] Cerita Awal Permasalahan Antara Ruben dan Mantan Istrinya! - BROWNIS (8/6/26)” di kanal TRANS TV Official. Data dikumpulkan melalui crawling Google Colab, dibersihkan menggunakan Microsoft Excel, lalu dianalisis dengan model tematik RIPES yang mencakup refleksivitas, interpretasi, konsistensi prosedural, evaluasi, dan konteks, serta didukung analisis sentimen menggunakan Communalytic.org. Temuan menunjukkan tiga pola utama: pertama, konflik keluarga mengalami keruntuhan koordinasi batas privasi sehingga informasi domestik diperlakukan sebagai milik publik; kedua, simpati parasosial dan religiusisasi penderitaan menjadi dasar legitimasi penghakiman sosial; ketiga, dukungan emosional berkembang menjadi vigilantisme digital lunak melalui pembelaan korban, koreksi publik, pelabelan moral, likes, dan penghukuman simbolik. Signifikansi penelitian ini terletak pada perluasan teori Communication Privacy Management dengan menunjukkan bahwa privacy turbulence tidak hanya lahir dari pelanggaran interpersonal, tetapi juga dari partisipasi massa dalam ekologi platform.

Abstract:  This study aims to analyse how the breakdown of privacy boundaries in YouTube infotainment videos triggers the emergence of ‘soft’ digital vigilantism within the Indonesian netizen comment culture. The research employs a qualitative netnographic approach to analyse 845 comments on the video “[FULL] The Story Behind the Problems Between Ruben and His Ex-Wife! – BROWNIS (8/6/26)” on the TRANS TV Official channel. Data were collected via Google Colab crawling, cleaned using Microsoft Excel, and then analysed using the RIPES thematic model—which encompasses reflexivity, interpretation, procedural consistency, evaluation and context—and supplemented by sentiment analysis using Communalytic.org. The findings reveal three main patterns: first, family conflicts experience a breakdown in the coordination of privacy boundaries, resulting in domestic information being treated as public property; second, parasocial empathy and the religious framing of suffering form the basis for the legitimisation of social judgement; third, emotional support evolves into soft digital vigilantism through the defence of victims, public correction, moral labelling, ‘likes’, and symbolic punishment. The significance of this research lies in the expansion of the Communication Privacy Management theory by demonstrating that privacy turbulence arises not only from interpersonal violations, but also from mass participation within the platform ecosystem.