Recently, the tragedy of Juliana Marins on Mount Rinjani filled social media timelines and quickly became a trending topic, especially among Indonesian and Brazilian netizens. As reported, Juliana (26), a Brazilian tourist, died after slipping while climbing with six friends and a guide.
She reportedly fell on Torean the “hell route” in Mount Rinjani, one of the most extreme mountains in Indonesia. The route and the extreme weather have become a counter-narrative to the Indonesian government, which is accused of being slow in carrying out rescue operations, resulting in Juliana’s inability to be rescued. The Brazilian government is even considering legal action in this case.
As reported by several mainstream media outlets, one of the criticisms and disappointments expressed by Juliana’s family concerns the standard procedures implemented by the Indonesian government in tourist areas.
However, they also forget that rescue efforts had been carried out from the beginning but were hampered by the terrain and extreme weather. Furthermore, simultaneously, the wave of support from Brazilian netizens has turned into pressure on their government to immediately take a firm stance against Indonesia. In this case, netizens have become a determining factor in this tragedy, even impacting diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Today, netizens may have contributed significantly to every political decision in several countries and are no longer solely internet users. Michael F. Hauben, figure behind the birth of this term, explains that netizens are internet users who actively contribute to the development of the internet and simultaneously act as citizens of the internet and the world.
Therefore, it is interesting to observe how netizens from both countries are now engaged in a war of narratives. Brazilian netizens have been actively “attacking” the official Indonesian government account, criticizing the slowness of Juliana’s rescue process, followed by mobilizing activists to boycott Mount Rinjani as a tourist destination, claiming it is unsafe for visitors.
In response to this narrative, Indonesian netizens have also fired back. Among these narratives, for example, is the idea that Juliana was not a climber but a tourist without the skills necessary to climb high-risk terrain.
Furthermore, as a counter-narrative to the slow rescue process, several videos on social media show that rescue efforts had been underway since the first discovery, but were delayed several times due to limited equipment and the extreme terrain.
Furthermore, they even gave negative reviews of the Amazon River in Brazil, which is actually more deadly and dangerous than Mount Rinjani, and of course, highly discouraged from visiting.
The war of narratives is unavoidable on social media. Furthermore, Brazil and Indonesia are the two countries with the third and fourth highest number of social media users, especially Instagram, in the world, after India and the United States.
According to Statistica.com, in 2024, Instagram had 134.6 million users, while Indonesia had 100.9 million. This ranking perhaps reflects similar netizen characteristics. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the netizen feud between the two countries is escalating.
Theoretically, the various narratives that emerged in the aftermath of the “Juliana Tragedy” also illustrate a “participatory culture,” where every user can express their thoughts and views on something that, at some point, may seem completely irrelevant.
Furthermore, although social media often demonstrates its effectiveness as a public space, the question remains, to what extent are these views truly in the public interest?
At this point, the delay in rescuing victims could be viewed as in the public interest, requiring the Indonesian government to improve and ensure standard procedures, particularly in extreme natural tourism areas, not just Rinjani.
However, as Zizi Papacharissi points out, not all views on social media reflect the public interest. This is because the digital space allows for a fusion of “publicness” and “privateness.” In the world of social media, we never truly know the boundaries between expressions that represent personal interests and those that represent the public interest.
The realization of netizenship, as an idealization of the reality of netizens in the digital realm, will depend heavily on their information literacy, enabling them to truly participate and contribute positively to creating healthier and more respectful digital interactions. (*)
Author: Prof. Dr. Moch Fakhruroji (CDiCS, Director, Researcher)
Originally posted in Mayantara Channel of AyoBandung.id in Bahasa Indonesia. Translation and re-publication of this material has been permitted by AyoBandung.id