eprintid: 78457
rev_number: 10
eprint_status: archive
userid: 12243
dir: disk0/00/07/84/57
datestamp: 2026-09-25 08:41:19
lastmod: 2026-09-25 08:41:19
status_changed: 2026-09-25 08:41:19
type: thesis
metadata_visibility: show
contact_email: muchti.nurhidaya@uin-suka.ac.id
creators_name: Muhammad Didik Rohmad Wahyudi, NIM.: 23300011010
title: VIRALITAS ALGORITMIK DAN PEMBENTUKAN OTORITAS KEAGAMAAN DIGITAL DI YOUTUBE
ispublished: pub
subjects: 302.23
divisions: pps_si
full_text_status: restricted
keywords: social media algorithms; YouTube; recommendation
systems; religious content virality; digital religious authority
note: Prof. Noorhaidi, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. dan Dr. Agung Fatwanto, S.Si., M.Kom.
abstract: This 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.
date: 2026-06-26
date_type: published
pages: 283
institution: UIN SUNAN KALIJAGA YOGYAKARTA
department: PASCASARJANA
thesis_type: doctoral
thesis_name: other
citation:   Muhammad Didik Rohmad Wahyudi, NIM.: 23300011010  (2026) VIRALITAS ALGORITMIK DAN PEMBENTUKAN OTORITAS KEAGAMAAN DIGITAL DI YOUTUBE.  Doctoral thesis, UIN SUNAN KALIJAGA YOGYAKARTA.   
document_url: https://digilib.uin-suka.ac.id/id/eprint/78457/1/23300011010_BAB-I_IV-atau-V_DAFTAR-PUSTAKA.pdf
document_url: https://digilib.uin-suka.ac.id/id/eprint/78457/2/23300011010_BAB-II_sampai_SEBELUM-BAB-TERAKHIR.pdf