Issue Management on TikTok

The Cyber Patrol Unit of Polres Blitar's Public Relations Division in Handling Negative Content Related to Policing

Abstract

Social media has become a real time channel through which police public relations units communicate with the public, and TikTok's algorithm driven distribution can allow an issue to escalate before an institution has verified the facts or prepared a response. This problem became visible when a TikTok video alleging a wrongful arrest by members of the Criminal Investigation Unit of Polres Blitar went viral in December 2025, generating widespread public reaction before any official clarification was issued. This study examines the issue management process, monitoring mechanism, and clarification efforts carried out by the Cyber Patrol Unit of Polres Blitar's Public Relations Division in response to this issue. A descriptive qualitative approach was used, drawing on Chase's (1984) issue management theory; primary data were obtained through in-depth interviews with the Head of the Public Relations Section as the key informant, together with a Cyber Patrol Unit member, a public relations administrative staff member, and a content observer as supporting informants, complemented by observation and documentation of official records and online content. The findings show that the issue management process follows five stages: issue identification, issue analysis, response-strategy formulation, communication implementation, and evaluation. Monitoring is conducted systematically through daily cyber patrols that track hashtag trends and viral content on TikTok, and the response strategy involves cross functional coordination with the Criminal Investigation Unit to produce fact based clarifications disseminated through a counter opinion approach via official Public Relations channels and online media. While the clarifications reached a wider audience, an observer's account suggests that their persuasive effect may have been constrained by how emotionally engaged and response oriented TikTok audiences tend to be toward this kind of issue, a pattern that warrants closer empirical investigation. These findings offer practical guidance for regional police public relations units seeking to design more adaptive, platform sensitive issue management practices for fast moving, short video social media.