Did Twitter predict Jokowi win?

MANILA, Philippines – Is Twitter influence a deciding factor in predicting the outcome of a presidential election?

Indonesian presidential candidates Joko Widodo “Jokowi” – the candidate of the masses – and Prabowo Subianto – the strong hand of tradition – put this to the test during the campaign and on election day, Wednesday, July 9. Despite their stark differences as candidates, both used social media to further boost their campaign.

Being the Twitter capital of the world, it’s no surprise that the amount of tweets sent out from Indonesia on election day was massive. From hashtag retweets to show who they support to photos of their ballots as they voted, Indonesian Twitter users certainly made some noise.

If Twitter noise is to be the basis of the election, Jokowi is the clear winner. However, Prabowo’s supporters have also been active as can be seen in the final tally of Rappler’s independent poll [closed at 12.00 mn on July 8, 2014].

Proof that they made the right move in taking their campaigns online, supporters made several hashtags trend on election day. It was almost as if the Indonesian elections were being held via Twitter.

One way that people showed their support for their candidate of choice was by sending photos of their inked fingers and proudly showing the number of the candidate they had voted for: 1 for Prabowo and 2 for Jokowi.

Below are some examples:

Will tweets reflect reality?

Watch this report below.

– Rappler.com