On March 20, 2025, Indonesia’s Parliament passed a controversial law allowing military officers to hold civilian roles in ministries and government bodies (Nurani, 2025). This law triggered public anger and unrest, as shown by a protest movement which internet users started on X, titled #TolakRUUTNI (Reject the Amendment to the TNI Law)

Semiotics reveals the meaning of related things outside the text because even though the most dominant sign is the text, many signs require meaning and do not come from texts, such as street signs, hairstyles, carvings on walls, and so on, which contain many meanings (O’Shaughnessy, 2012, p. 123).

The art image represented under the hashtag #TolakRUUTNI must have meaning since it contains several parts that only the people who protest or some oppositional communities would understand.

The researcher has determined 18 artworks that will be examined in the next chapter. The number of significant interactions with the artwork posted also contributes to why these artworks are chosen.

They included objects, colours, and key messages related to the political condition and terror and integrated daily content into the graphic art listed. The authors do not create the arts just to announce or give a huge text about their stance but also provide a lot of context in producing the media.

O’Shaughnessy, M. (2012). Media and Society (J. M. Stadler, Ed.; 5th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Yunus, S. (2025, April 17). UU TNI Sudah Diteken Prabowo, Ini Poin-poin Penting Perubahannya | tempo.co. Tempo. https://www.tempo.co/politik/uu-tni-sudah-diteken-prabowo-ini-poin-poin-penting-perubahannya-1232437

• Military personnel could retire later, enabling them to retain their positions longer.

• The military would " support " policies and administrative functions, even in sectors unrelated to defense. This implies that military involvement could extend into civilian affairs beyond its usual jurisdiction.

• Active military personnel could occupy positions in up to 14 civilian institutions, including the Supreme Court.
  (Active military personnel can only fill positions in 10 defence-related ministries/institutions without retiring from their military roles.)

Reacting to repressive power, including from the state, artists sometimes create art to express negative sentiment or disagreement (Groys, 2008, p. 122). This also happened on X. They reacted to this sense of injustice by creating graphic arts.