KOMUNIKASI MASSA DAN LEGITIMASI SOSIAL DALAM MASYARAKAT DEMOKRATIS

Abstract

In democratic societies, mass communication plays a strategic role in building, maintaining, and testing the social legitimacy of power, public policies, and institutions. Legitimacy is determined not only by legal formal aspects but also by public acceptance and recognition shaped through communication processes. This article aims to analyze the role of mass communication in the formation of social legitimacy using a theoretical and conceptual approach. The method employed is a literature review with a qualitative analytical approach to theories of mass communication, social legitimacy, and the relationship between media and democracy. The findings indicate that mass communication functions as an arena for the production of meaning, the formation of public opinion, and mediation between the state and citizens. In a democratic context, transparent, balanced, and participatory mass communication contributes positively to social legitimacy, whereas manipulative and hegemonic communication has the potential to undermine it. Therefore, strengthening ethics and media literacy in mass communication becomes an essential prerequisite for sustaining legitimacy in democratic societies.