Ketakutan yang Direkayasa: Analisis Linguistik Forensik atas Hoaks ‘Petrus’ dalam Pesan WhatsApp

Abstract

The rapid circulation of hoaxes in the digital era poses a serious threat to public security and undermines trust in credible information. One such example is a WhatsApp message spread in September 2025 containing a fabricated narrative about “PETRUS” (Mysterious Shootings), exploiting historical trauma to provoke fear. This study aims to identify linguistic markers that reveal the message as a hoax and to analyze how its semantic and pragmatic features function to manipulate readers. Using a descriptive–qualitative approach grounded in forensic linguistics, the WhatsApp text was examined through semantic and pragmatic analysis to uncover patterns of disinformation and communicative intent. The analysis shows that the message constitutes deliberate disinformation in the form of a fabricated emergency alert. Panic-triggering diction such as “TEMBAK MATI DITEMPAT,” the sensational use of full capitalization (e.g., “INTEL”), and the invocation of false authority (“BEM UI,” “Intel”) construct an atmosphere of imminent danger. The absence of verifiable details and the presence of manipulative directives—such as claims of “secret information” and calls to redistribute the message—reinforce its deceptive nature. Pragmatically, the dominance of directive speech acts generates the implicature that leaving home equates to a life-threatening risk, serving as a strategy of social demobilization and delegitimization of protest groups. By revealing the linguistic cues of deception, this study demonstrates how forensic linguistics provides objective evidence for classifying the message as a hoax and highlights the urgent need for stronger digital literacy in mitigating disinformation.