Risks of Freedom of Speech and Democracy in Social Media: Case Study of Bima Content Creator Criticizing Lampung Government

Social media has become a new public space that allows users to express opinions, criticisms, and suggestions freely. This article captures the resistance of the content creator, Bima Yudho Saputro, a student from Lampung studying in Australia, in criticizing the damage to roads in Lampung Province, Indonesia, for decades. This study uses ethnography with a theoretical approach from Jurgen Habermas to photograph digital community relations in Indonesia's democratic climate on social media. The study findings show, first, the risk and vulnerability for content creators is very high to be criminalized in Indonesia. The sarcastic video with everyday Gen-Z diction sparked controversy, including the local government's formal response to the criticism. Second, public anger in defending Bima gave rise to new social movements on social media, which were able to encourage the President's sensitivity to rebuke the performance of the local government. Third, social movements born from social media are also very vulnerable when dealing with state structures that try to curb citizens' freedom of speech. This issue is of great concern to this article in reconstructing the role of civil society in strengthening democracy in Indonesia through social media.