Melola Discovery

← Melola Discovery

Open access Journal

From invocation to indictment: Analyzing hate speech elements in a social media prayer

Rainbow: Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Culture Studies · Vol. 14 No. 1 (2025) · pp. 98–107

DOI
10.15294/rainbow.v14i1.23626
ISSN
2721-4540, 2252-6323
Published
2025-04-30
Publisher
Universitas Negeri Semarang
Language
eng
License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Abstract

This study investigates a controversial Facebook post prosecuted under Indonesian hate speech law, focusing on a “bad prayer” directed at the president during the 2019 election period. This research was a case study of a hate speech that the Tembilahan District Court, Indragiri Hilir, Riau, decided. The data was collected from the case trial on the website of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia and the associated Facebook group. Employing semantic, sociolinguistic, and pragmatic analyses, the research explores how religious language can serve as a vehicle for politically motivated hate speech. Findings indicate that the expression, namely “Congratulations on the presidential inauguration, may he meet his end as soon as possible. Amen", constitutes minor hate speech by violating politeness principles and implying negative social judgment. The statement is motivated by the competition between two candidates in the 2019 presidential election, where the accused disapproved of the elected President Joko Widodo. This interdisciplinary approach contributes to forensic linguistics by introducing the concept of “bad prayer” and examining its sociopolitical and legal implications in Southeast Asian digital discourse.

Keywords

Collaboration network of the authors

6 authors · 8 co-authorship links

Hover or tap a name to highlight its co-authors. Double-click to open the author's page.

  • Affiliation unknown
  • Different organisations
  • Same organisation
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Thicker line = more joint articles · bigger circle = more articles
Show as table
Co-authorOrganisationJoint articles
Alfa Zulia Dwi KarinaAffiliation unknown1
Haryanto HaryantoAffiliation unknown1

Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/rainbow/oai, first harvested 6 Nov 2026, last seen 8 Nov 2026.
Original metadata (oai_dc) 
<oai_dc:dc xmlns="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/  http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd">
	<dc:title xml:lang="en">From invocation to indictment: Analyzing hate speech elements in a social media prayer</dc:title>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Surahmat, Surahmat</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Arimi, Sailal</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Susilowati, Novi Eka</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Imamah, Fardan Mahmudatul</dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">bad prayer</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Facebook</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">forestic linguistics</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">hate speech</dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en">This study investigates a controversial Facebook post prosecuted under Indonesian hate speech law, focusing on a “bad prayer” directed at the president during the 2019 election period. This research was a case study of a hate speech that the Tembilahan District Court, Indragiri Hilir, Riau, decided. The data was collected from the case trial on the website of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia and the associated Facebook group.  Employing semantic, sociolinguistic, and pragmatic analyses, the research explores how religious language can serve as a vehicle for politically motivated hate speech. Findings indicate that the expression, namely “Congratulations on the presidential inauguration, may he meet his end as soon as possible. Amen", constitutes minor hate speech by violating politeness principles and implying negative social judgment. The statement is motivated by the competition between two candidates in the 2019 presidential election, where the accused disapproved of the elected President Joko Widodo. This interdisciplinary approach contributes to forensic linguistics by introducing the concept of “bad prayer” and examining its sociopolitical and legal implications in Southeast Asian digital discourse. </dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Universitas Negeri Semarang</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2025-04-30</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion</dc:type>
	<dc:type xml:lang="en">Peer-reviewed Article</dc:type>
	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/rainbow/article/view/23626</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.15294/rainbow.v14i1.23626</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en">Rainbow: Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Culture Studies; Vol. 14 No. 1 (2025): April 2025; 98-107</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2721-4540</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2252-6323</dc:source>
	<dc:source>10.15294/rainbow.v14i1</dc:source>
	<dc:language>eng</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/rainbow/article/view/23626/3830</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">Copyright (c) 2025 Surahmat Surahmat, Sailal Arimi, Novi Eka Susilowati, Fardan Mahmudatul Imamah (Author)</dc:rights>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0</dc:rights>
</oai_dc:dc>