Language, Power, and Media: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Political Polarization in Indonesia

Language is not only a medium of communication but also a tool of power capable of shaping political realities and influencing public perception. In the Indonesian context, political polarization has become increasingly visible since the 2014 presidential election, intensifying in 2019 and continuing in the run-up to 2024. Both mainstream and alternative media along with social media platforms, have played a central role in constructing and reinforcing this polarization. This study aims to critically analyze how language is used in Indonesian media to produce and reproduce political polarization. Employing a qualitative approach with Norman Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework, the research examines data collected from mainstream news portals (Kompas.com, Tempo.co, CNN Indonesia), alternative and partisan outlets, and digital interactions on platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. The findings reveal that mainstream media tends to adopt institutional diction that projects neutrality but still subtly embeds bias through word choices that frame actors differently. Alternative and partisan media, in contrast, explicitly deploy ideological framing to either legitimize authority or expose government failures. Social media demonstrates even stronger polarization, marked by the widespread use of emotional and derogatory labels such as “cebong” and “kampret”, reinforcing exclusionary group identities and echo chamber effects. Furthermore, intertextuality practices in which media reproduce elite statements highlight the role of discourse as a mechanism of symbolic domination. This study concludes that language, power, and media are interlinked in shaping polarization in Indonesia. Media not only functions as channels of information but also as arenas of ideological struggle. These findings underline the urgency of strengthening critical media literacy and the ethical responsibility of media institutions to present more balanced narratives, in order to support democratic consolidation and mitigate societal divisions.