Building Political Appeal Through Digital Media : A Study of Finance Minister Purbaya’s Tiktok Videos

Abstract

Short-video platforms, like TikTok, have changed the political landscape, allowing public officials to present themselves in a more intimate and engaging way than ever before. Political charm is analytically defined as a dimension of political personalization – the way in which traits, modes of communication and emotions are mobilized in order to make public perceptions of political actors bear fruit. This is clear from the minister of finance's viral TikTok antics in Indonesia, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa. This article looks at how political charm of Purbaya is constructed through TikTok content, and the way it is made meaningful by the audiences in digital media environment. Using a qualitative netnographic approach, the study brought in four TikTok videos and their responses of viewers as well as representative comments to identify dominant narratives patterns and public interpretations. The results indicate that Purbaya’s personality on digital is built under the theme of empathy, transparency, responsive and open communication. Reactions from the audience mainly express feelings of support, credibility and relational nearness, but also critical and reflective types of reactions emerge, pointing to an engaged and interpretative public discourse. Rather, it is analytically argued here that personalized communication on TikTok leads to trust and legitimacy perceptions, framing the platform as a place for political personalization in governance.