Covid-19 Memes: Hyperdemocracy Representation (Semiotic Study)

Abstract

A year has passed since the covid 19 pandemic started, and the government policy in terms of handling this pandemic has still been a controversial debate. There are allegations that the pandemic does not exist or is just a conspiracy; the government is considered to be confused when deciding on handling the pandemic, whether to impose a lockdown or to allow business investment activities to continue, and in terms of education, the government's measures are unable to determine the right system for distance learning. Some of the issues over the information were widely constructed through memes circulating on social media Instagram. This research is a case study that uses memes and netizen responses as research data. To understand the signs, meanings, and responses of netizens, the writer uses Peirce's semiotic, multimodal theory, and Welch's hyperdemocracy symptoms. Freedom of expression, giving opinions, making and spreading the information is based on individual justification. Nowadays, social media is able to influence, change netizens’ way of thinking so that the discussion in the comment section leads to ridicule, criticize, and blame each other. In addition, it is also found that social media dominates the internet, this can be seen in some responses which support meme uploads on social media instagram. Through some of these indicators, there is an assumption that the phenomenon of hyperdemocracy in virtual space has emerged. Ultimately, the findings of this analysis will describe how the hyperdemocracy phenomenon began to appear in virtual space.