Local Wisdom and Pre-Bunking Strategies: Building Digital Resilience Against Misinformation in Indonesia

In an era of hypermediated polycrisis, building digital resilience is essential to counter the spread of misinformation that threatens democratic processes. This study examines how Indonesia’s local cultural values and community-based movements contribute to strengthening digital resilience against misinformation. Drawing on empirical evidence from NGO-led pre-bunking initiatives, digital literacy programs, and the mobilisation of women’s organisations such as the Family Welfare Empowerment (PKK) program, the study demonstrates how local wisdom shapes information verification practices. While culturally contextualised pre-bunking strategies provide critical frameworks for identifying misinformation, the findings show that resilience is ultimately enacted through community-based verification practices. These informal networks transform individual digital literacy into collective resilience via trusted intermediaries, hierarchical credibility assessment, and community knowledge exchange. Using a mixed-methods design that combines interviews with key stakeholders in Indonesia’s digital literacy ecosystem and a quasi-experimental study with women’s community groups, this study situates Indonesia’s experience within the global discourse on digital resilience. It advances a community-centred model grounded in local empowerment, collective agency, and cultural continuity, offering an alternative to predominantly Western, individualistic approaches to combating misinformation.