Institutional Repository UIN Sunan Kalijaga YogyakartaVIRALITAS ALGORITMIK DAN PEMBENTUKAN OTORITAS KEAGAMAAN DIGITAL DI YOUTUBENIM.: 23300011010Muhammad Didik Rohmad WahyudiauthorThis dissertation examines the formation of religious authority on YouTube, which does not rely solely on the presence of religious figures or the substance of da‘wah messages. Content visibility, circulation, audience responses, and platform metrics are positioned as important elements in the formation of digital religious authority. On this basis, this dissertation discusses the formation of digital religious authority on YouTube through the algorithmic virality of religious content, which emerges from the intersection of recommendation logic, creator strategies, audience responses, and platform metrics. Studies on digital religion and digital Islam have generally explained changes in religious practices, shifts in authoritative figures, and discourse contestation in digital spaces. Studies on algorithms and digital platform logic have mostly explained recommendation mechanisms, ranking systems, and engagement metrics. The relationship between these two fields remains rarely explained in an integrated manner in the context of da‘wah, content virality, and the formation of digital religious authority. This research is therefore directed at explaining the tendency of YouTube’s recommendation system in displaying content, the adjustment of creator strategies and audience responses, and the interaction between the two in forming digital religious authority. This research uses a Multiphase Mixed Methods Design as its general framework. Within this design, the initial analytical stage uses an Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Design with a qualitative, quantitative, and interpretive-qualitative synthesis pattern. The qualitative stage is conducted through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to map relevant concepts, variables, and mechanisms. The quantitative stage is carried out through a YouTube recommendation experiment involving 45 accounts across 5 iterations, producing 2,250 YouTube video samples, as well as PLS-SEM testing on 150 purposively selected YouTube videos. The synthesis stage is used to interpret the analytical results and formulate conceptual findings on machine habitus and digital habitus. The final stage uses synthesis based qualitative analysis to integrate all findings in explaining the interaction between the two in the formation of digital religious authority. The findings show that the virality of religious content on YouTube is not determined solely by religious figures and the substance of religious messages. Virality is formed through the interaction between algorithmic curation, content production strategies, audience responses, and the circulation of platform metrics. In the algorithmic pathway, personalized recommendations operate iteratively through the accumulation of interaction traces, reinforce exposure to particular themes, and increase the possibility of forming an increasingly limited and homogeneous information space. In the content performance pathway, thematic strength and presenter credibility contribute to the increase in subscribers, which subsequently strengthens audience interaction. Thematic strength also directly contributes to increasing audience engagement. In this context, subscribers and audience interaction function not only as indicators of content success but also as markers of recognition and visibility that support the emergence of digital religious authority. Based on these findings, this research expands the studies of digital religion, mediatization of religion, and the contestation of digital religious authority. In the Indonesian context, this research adds a dimension that has not been systematically explained in previous studies, namely the role of recommendation logic and platform metrics in mediating the contestation of religious authority. Empirically, this dissertation explains how YouTube recommendations based on users’ viewing history can limit the diversity of content they receive. Conceptually, this research formulates the pathway through which religious content virality is formed and its relationship to digital religious authority. Methodologically, this research develops an approach to reading closed platform recommendation systems through a comparison between user inputs and recommendation outputs. On this basis, this research formulates the Theory of Algorithmic Virality of Religious Authority.302.231 Media Komunikasi, Media Massa, Media Sosial2026-06-26UIN SUNAN KALIJAGA YOGYAKARTA;PASCASARJANAThesis

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