PENGARUH KONTEN DIGITAL TERHADAP KEPERCAYAAN PUBLIK PADA KEPOLISIAN DALAM KASUS BEGAL DI KOTA MEDAN
Abstract
The digital era has transformed how society shapes opinion toward law enforcement institutions. In Medan City, viral begal (motorcycle robbery) content on social media triggered massive public criticism toward the police, while public trust in Polri continuously declined throughout 2021–2025. This study examines the influence of digital content on public trust in the police regarding begal cases in Medan Tembung District.The study employed a quantitative associative approach with 100 respondents via purposive sampling. Data were collected using a 1–5 Likert Scale questionnaire and analyzed through simple linear regression, t-test, and independent sample t-test.The findings confirmed that digital content has a significant negative effect on public trust (β = −0.413; R² = 0.684; p < 0.001). A total of 83 percent of respondents fell in the low trust category, and the high-exposure group showed significantly lower trust than the low-exposure group (t = −24.880; p < 0.001). The police must develop a proactive digital communication strategy to restore public trust.
References
ANTARA News. (2024, 31 Mei). Polisi tangkap dua terduga pelaku begal di Medan. https://www.antaranews.com/berita/4131360/polisi-tangkap-dua-terduga-pelaku-begal-di-medan
Buka Mata. (2024, 19 September). Pemuda dibegal di Kota Medan, netizen soroti kinerja polisi. https://www.bukamata.co/hukum/50576553/pemuda-dibegal-di-kota-medan-netizen-soroti-kinerja-polisi-berikut-beragam-komentar-warganet
DataReportal. (2026). Digital 2026: Indonesia. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-indonesia
Efendi, I., & Ramadhani, N. (2024). Penggunaan media sosial X pada akun @Txtdrberseragam untuk mengetahui tingkat kepercayaan masyarakat Yogyakarta terhadap Kepolisian RI. MUKASI: Jurnal Ilmu Komunikasi, 3(3), 236–248.
Efendi, E., Taufiqurrohman, A., Supriadi, T., & Kuswananda, E. (2023). Teori agenda setting. Jurnal Pendidikan Tambusai, 7(1), 1715–1718.
GoodStats. (2025). Survei penilaian pengalaman masyarakat terhadap pelayanan polisi tahun 2025. https://goodstats.id/article/survei-goodstats-2025
Indikator Politik Indonesia. (2025). Tingkat kepercayaan publik terhadap lembaga-lembaga negara. Jakarta: Indikator Politik Indonesia.
Indonesia Indicator (I2). (2024). Tren media sosial di Indonesia 2024. Jakarta: Indonesia Indicator.
Khatimah, K., et al. (2024). Media sosial dan opini publik: Agenda setting, framing, dan hegemoni di era digital. Jurnal Intelek Insan Cendikia, 2(9).
Koestiono, F., Hapsari, A. P., Permadi, R., Muchlis, M., & Metalia, D. (2025). Pengaruh media sosial terhadap pembentukan opini publik tentang hukum. Jurnal ISO, 6(1), 10.
Purba, R. M., Suseno, J. J. B., et al. (2026). Strategi Polri dalam penegakan hukum humanis untuk meningkatkan kepercayaan publik di Kepulauan Riau. Jurnal USM Law Review, 9(1).
Putri, A. M. (2023). Kajian sosiologi hukum tentang tingkat kepercayaan masyarakat terhadap aparat penegak hukum. Jurnal Hukum dan Pembangunan Ekonomi, Universitas Sebelas Maret.
Ramadhani, M. (2024). The important role of social media in improving the performance of law enforcement apparatus in Indonesia. Journal of Legal and Cultural Analytics, 3(3), 299–310.
Suratman, A., Salsabila, N., et al. (2025). Tingkat kepercayaan publik dalam mengonsumsi berita melalui media sosial vs media konvensional. Jurnal ISO, 5(1).
Sugiyono. (2019). Metode Penelitian Kuantitatif, Kualitatif, dan R&D. Bandung: Alfabeta.
Tri Haryadi, A., et al. (2025). Pengaruh media sosial terhadap kepercayaan publik pada institusi pemerintah. Jurnal Penelitian Ilmiah Multidisipliner (JPIM), 02(04), 2500–2510.
Wise, R. A., Mayer, R. C., & Mourtgos, S. M. (2025). Police–public trust: Toward a more complete perspective. Behavioral Science & Policy, 11(2).
Wuysang, J. M., et al. (2024). Viral justice: Law enforcement in the social media era. Nurani.
Zaidi, H., & O'Connor, C. D. (2024). Policing social media: Are procedural justice principles guiding Canadian police interactions online? The Police Journal, 96(3–4), 327–348.
