Indonesia's Moderate Muslim Websites and Their Fight Against Online Islamic Extremism

In many cases in Indonesia, exposure to the Internet, especially social media, increases knowledge seekers' religious radicalism. Moderate online media institutions have been ineffective in counteracting online dissemination of extremist religious content. This report argues that this ineffectiveness is due to structural and cultural challenges.

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It is worrying that, in many cases in Indonesia, exposure to the Internet, especially social media, increases knowledge seekers' religious radicalism. This exposure has not only resulted in increased radicalism but also compelled some individuals to turn to violence in the name of Islam.

Moderate online media institutions have not been effective in counteracting the online dissemination of extremist religious content. The content disseminated by radical websites is still being popularly consumed, albeit those moderate Muslim websites have put in considerable effort to counteract radical narratives.

This report argues that this ineffectiveness is due to structural and cultural challenges. The structural challenges include limited funding and sensitivity towards the policy of umbrella organizations. Cultural challenges include passiveness in corporate culture, alongside the "ivory tower" traditions among journalists which leaves them out of touch with Muslim communities.

The government of Indonesia can assist moderate Muslim media websites in fighting radical narratives, for example, through better funding to them.