The Functions of Third-Party Communication: Evidence from Political and Celebrity Infidelity Scandals in Indonesia

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-622-2_17How to use a DOI?

Keywords

third-party communication; crisis communication; infidelity scandals; political scandals; celebrity scandals; Indonesia

Abstract

Third-party actors can play an important role in personal scandals, yet crisis communication research has largely focused on the individual at the center of the crisis. This study examines the functions of third-party communication in infidelity scandals involving Indonesian politicians and celebrities. Using qualitative analysis of 35 publicly reported communicative episodes, the study identifies seven functions: defense, contextualization, disclosure, relational protection, moral intervention, religious meaning-making, and boundary setting. While some functions correspond to established strategies in Image Repair Theory, others extend beyond image repair and responsibility management. The findings also show that relational position does not determine communicative function. Actors in similar positions could support, challenge, contextualize, or complicate the crisis narrative. Third-party interventions could further shift attention from alleged misconduct toward evidence, relationships, morality, religion, or personal change. The study therefore conceptualizes personal crisis communication as a distributed process in which third parties do more than defend the crisis actor. They contribute information, negotiate relationships, establish boundaries, and introduce alternative moral and interpretive perspectives. The findings extend actor-centered approaches to crisis communication by highlighting the varied functions of third-party participation in personal scandals.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Rani Prita Prabawangi
AU  - Suko Widodo
AU  - Siti Mas’udah
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
TI  - The Functions of Third-Party Communication: Evidence from Political and Celebrity Infidelity Scandals in Indonesia
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Communication, Digital Ecosystem, and Society (ICODES 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 239
EP  - 257
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-622-2_17
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-622-2_17
ID  - Prabawangi2026
ER  -