JAKARTA – The Journalist Safety Index 2024 by the Safe Journalism Consortium, published on Thursday, revealed that violence against media workers remains rampant in Indonesia despite a slight improvement from a score of 59.8 in 2023 to 60.5 last year, putting the country’s journalists in the “somewhat protected” category.

Last year saw at least 167 reported cases of violence against journalists, from physical abuse to censorship and cyberattacks, according to the joint report produced by the Tifa Foundation, the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) and the Indonesian Association for Media Development (PPMN), with the support of pollster Populix and the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta.

The report is based on a survey of 760 active journalists conducted from Oct. 30 to Dec. 6, and includes analysis of data from the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) as well as interviews of related stakeholders.

One notable finding is that 79 percent of respondents said they felt threatened during the transition of power between the outgoing administration of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his successor Prabowo Subianto.

The majority of respondents also expressed concern over the possibility of future bans on coverage.

During the report’s launch on Feb. 20, Noudhy Valdryno of the Presidential Communications Office acknowledged the importance of press freedom for both the public and government.

“We will try to build more solid communication with the media and also provide [journalists] with better access to information,” Noudhy said.

“We should be grateful for this [year’s score], but in the coming years we are hoping [to reach a score that will] put us in the ‘protected’ category,” he added.

Mustafa Layong, executive director of the Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers), told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that no significant changes had been observed over the past year in guaranteeing a free press in Indonesia, as the Prabowo administration had continued to apply the same “repressive” measures as previous governments.

“The government’s commitment to protect press freedom is indeed worrying,” Mustafa said, noting that LBH Pers had received numerous reports on media violations in the first two months of 2025.

More cyberattacks

Thursday’s event also spotlighted the issue of digital attacks against media workers.

At least 12 journalists said they had been targeted by doxing, hacking and cyberbullying efforts last year.

Wahyu Dhyatmika of the Indonesian Cyber Media Association (AMSI) said some media companies had been targets of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

A DDoS attack is a malicious attempt to force a website, server or other digital platform offline, either temporarily or permanently, by flooding them with traffic.

“We have received reports from seven online media, including Project Multatuli, Narasi, Tempo.co and Suara.com,” Wahyu said.

According to the Journalist Safety Index, another potential threat is the emergence of paid influencers who are hired specifically to sway public opinion, locally known as “buzzers”, often by spreading misinformation.

The report notes that these buzzers, along with mass organizations and security personnel, are the main actors in most cases of violence against journalists.

Indonesia ranks 111th among 180 countries assessed in the 2024 Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which said journalists investigating corruption were often subjected to intimidation and violence by authorities.

Last June, North Sumatra reporter Rico Sempurna Pasaribu, along with members of his family, died in an arson attack after he reported on an illegal gambling operation involving local officials.

Police have named three suspects in the case, which is still open. (gmb)

Asia News Network/The Jakarta Post