The Dunning Kruger Uprising: How Social Media Fueled Performative Activism

The Dunning-Kruger Effect is real and alive in 2025, kept alive by Instagram filters, TikTok infographics, Canva-colored quotes.

I’ve been watching the Indonesian protests silently, and yes, I understand and agreed at the frustration brewing against the government.

Our government IS corrupt and rotten to the core. I think we can all agree with that.

At the start, there was some clarity, some courage, like our voices were being channeled, and maybe this time we were done being silent. But then it started spiraling fast. Busway stations burned down, public facilities destroyed.

You wanted to burn down official offices? Sure. You paid for them. In fact, we paid for all the things you burned. When they get replaced? It's our money again.

And then, it was the government officials’ private homes being invaded, looted and vandalized. There were children in the crowd, actual kids laughing and showing off their looted things and filming the destruction like it was a TikTok challenge. What do they know about the DPR? About constitutional reform? About judicial independence? Nothing. But they showed up anyway, not to stand for something, but to join the fun.

Let’s not lie to ourselves and sugarcoat it with words like “fatigue” and “people’s power” and say that they “deserve” it. What I see now isn’t protest, it’s chaos wrapped in hashtags.

Opportunism wrapped in groupthink. The original good demands that I agreed with, "17+8", judicial neutrality, all of it, are now background noise under the screaming and looting.

And when anyone dares to call this out, to say “Maybe don’t torch the bus system,” they’re immediately branded as a government buzzer. In fact, one of my friend who was vocal against the destruction was called exactly that when he simply voiced out another rational view on the matter that called upon peace. He was labeled a paid shill, an enemy of the people. And that entire accusation? Completely debunked, but does anyone care? No.

Because Jerome Polin, with all his reach and influence, irresponsibly amplified it without verifying a single fact. He fed the same ignorance he pretends to rise above.

This is the Dunning-Kruger effect playing out in real time. People with zero policy background, no political education, no literacy in governance or law, suddenly feeling qualified to lead revolutions because they reposted a quote carousel and cried in a 30-second reel.

They call it empathy. But what they’re really doing is cosplaying as heroes in a story they don’t understand. They hide behind "tiredness" and say those of us who question them “lack heart.”

Sorry to break your fragile hearts, but emotional noise is not a substitute for clarity.

And then there’s Salsa Erwina.

She went viral screaming about the Indonesian government. TikTok on fire. Everyone reposted her like she was some kind of resistance icon. “Finally someone dares to say it,” they said.

But here’s the truth: she doesn’t even live here and yet she speaks like she’s on the ground, like she’s in the smoke, like she knows what it feels like to live under the policies she screams about. And people still take her word as gospel because it feels powerful. Because she hit the right emotional tones. It didn’t matter that some of the claims she pushed were misleading or straight-up inaccurate. The tears and anger were enough.

The algorithm doesn’t reward truth. It rewards theater.

This is what we’ve come to. Feelings now weigh more than facts.

And now, people want to copy Nepal, as if that’s the template for change.

Have you seen Nepal? Have you seen what happened there? They didn’t just storm a building, they destroyed entire sectors. They burned public offices, sure yes, but also private hospitals, hotels, transportation systems, and vital infrastructure.

Hilton? Gone. Investors? Gone. Stability? Gone.

And now some Indonesians are romanticizing that path, saying “we should’ve gone as far as they did.”

Excuse yourself out of here. It is no surprise that many of us have a barbaric tendency, the history of this country is littered with violence. Then when everything gets destroyed, they act surprised when the economy collapses.

If you still think these riots are noble, if you still think looting homes and destroying public goods is a symbol of bravery, I don’t think you understand what nobility means.

Noble people do not destroy their own future. They do not chase chaos for likes. They do not weaponize ignorance as a shield against criticism.

A noble cause demands intelligence, restraint and strategy. You don’t just fight because you’re angry, you fight because you know what you're fighting for and you’re willing to protect that with more than just your fists.

If violence is your only language, don’t call it a revolution. Call it what it is: a tantrum. If this is your idea of fighting for change, then one should genuinely doubt one’s capacity to ever build anything.

Let’s all start by being informed, start by not worshipping the loudest voice in the room just because they cried on camera, attacks the police force, start by questioning narratives, start by not reposting every single thing just because it looks and sounds inspirational.

A movement built on emotional theatrics, Tik Tok Trauma dumps and misinformed rage is not a revolution. Because why? When things get messy, when things turn to shit, we the people will be the ones sweeping up the mess.

Yes, fuck the DPR for their greed, their detachment, and their complete disregard for the working class. But instead of screaming “Bubarin DPR” like it’s a magic spell, let’s think bigger and smarter, instead of louder.

Real change isn’t about tearing it all down, it’s about getting our people on the inside. Infiltrate the system, replace the rot. Build slow, but build right.

Because the truth is, good change doesn’t always arrive with a bang, it arrives with strategy.

And as Sun Tzu said: “The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”