ABSTRACT
SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF ROLAND BARTHES' MODEL ON POLITICAL
MEMES ON INSTAGRAM @wirtams IN REPRESENTING THE IMAGE OF
THE POLICE AS IMPLEMENTERS OF THE FREE NUTRITIONAL MEAL
PROGRAM
Dicky Adi Prasetia
22241061
This study aims to analyze the representation of the police as an implementer of the free meal program in political memes posted on the Instagram account @wirtams. Instagram has become a public digital space that allows individuals to express their opinions, criticisms, and evaluations of various social issues and government policies through visual content, including political memes. From a public relations
perspective, political memes are a symbolic means of communication capable of shaping an institution's image through visual and verbal cues. This study employs a qualitative research methodology combined with Roland Barthes' semiotic analysis approach. The analysis is conducted across three stages of meaning signification, connotation, and myth to uncover the meaning inherent in each element of the meme. The results are then interpreted using Frank Jevkins' image theory, specifically the concepts of the present image and the institution image. The findings show that the political satire on the Instagram account @wirtams portrays the police as an institution whose duties extend beyond security, protection, shelter, community service, and law enforcement to include participation in the
implementation of the free meal program. On a symbolic and mythological level, these images critique the expanding role of the police through symbols that embody their proximity to political power. These images constitute what is known as the current image, a general perception that criticizes police intervention beyond their core functions, while the institutional image portrays the police as part of the state's power structure in implementing public policies. This study concludes that political satire is a symbolic means of communication that represents the image of the police while simultaneously expressing social criticism of the implementation of the free school meals program.

Keywords: Roland Barthes's Semiotics, Political Memes, Police Image, Public
Relations, Free Nutritional Meal Program.