YouTube and religion during COVID-19: Analyzing Indonesian Islamic groups’ narratives

The surge in COVID-19 cases in early 2020 led to the Indonesian government imposing restrictions on public services and religious activities, making YouTube a crucial platform for disseminating pandemic-related information by religious groups. This study examines Indonesian Islamic groups' perspectives on COVID-19 and their use of YouTube. We analyzed the 40 most viewed COVID-19-related YouTube videos from moderate and fundamentalist groups between January and September 2020. The research focused on Islamic groups' beliefs about the pandemic's causes, responses to government policies, and recommendations for dealing with COVID-19. The results showed moderate group videos had more views but fewer social interactions than fundamentalist group videos. Distinct differences were observed, particularly in reactions to government policies, which faced more criticism from fundamentalist videos. Fundamentalist videos portrayed COVID-19 as divine punishment and advocated for an Islamic state as a solution, while moderate groups depicted the pandemic as a test from God and promoted adherence to health guidelines and prayer.