Framing and Sentiment Shifts in Indonesian Online News Coverage of Forest and Land Fires 2025-2026

Background Forest and land fires (karhutla) are a recurring annual ecological crisis in Indonesia that consistently attracts mass media attention, yet how media construct the causes of and responsibility for such events can shift over time. This study analyzes shifts in framing and sentiment of forest and land fire coverage in Indonesian online media between 2025 and 2026, and identifies patterns of geographic distribution and the most frequently quoted actors in each period. Method This study uses dictionary-based content analysis on 19,343 online news articles (9,502 from 2025; 9,841 from January–August 2026) drawn from a media monitoring database, after removing duplicates and articles found on audit to be unrelated to the topic. Articles were classified into six frames adapted from Entman’s model, and differences between years were tested using chi-square and Cramer’s V. Results Framing shifted significantly (chi-square = 400.29; df = 6; p < .001; Cramer’s V = 0.144). Solutions/mitigation was the dominant frame in both years but declined from 52.0% to 47.7%, while natural disaster/climate rose from 24.9% to 32.7%. Corporate negligence declined from 4.9% to 2.4%, and the already-marginal governance failure frame declined further to 0.4%. Health/humanitarian impact rose from 5.1% to 8.7%. Sentiment also shifted more negative (23.2% to 27.4%; chi-square = 57.36; df = 2; p < .001). Coverage intensity declined in East Kalimantan (−25.8%) and North Kalimantan (−36.6%), and rose in South Kalimantan (+16.6%). Conclusion These shifts are linked to a change in BMKG’s leadership, reflected in the most frequently quoted actor, and to a decline in corporate-accountability framing even as routine mitigation reporting remains dominant. Governance-accountability framing was rare in both years, suggesting that structural scrutiny of institutional responsibility for forest and land fires is a marginal, not merely declining, feature of Indonesian online media coverage.