Thought Leader Blocks User for Asking, ‘Can You Clarify What You Mean by That?'
Indonesian creator blocks user for asking a simple clarification, sparking debate over free speech, digital fragility and the rise of “comment taskforces.”
JAKARTA — 29-year-old Indonesian LinkedIn creator Andika R. Damar reportedly blocked a fellow platform user on Tuesday after they dared to ask, “Can you clarify what you mean by that?”
The question, widely considered to be the intellectual equivalent of a slap across the face in the creator economy, was made in response to Damar’s viral post: “Sometimes losing is just another kind of winning, and that’s the mindset of real leadership.”
The offending reply came from Surabaya-based product manager, Indira Putri, who calmly replied to the post:
“Hi Andika, could you clarify what you mean by losing being a form of winning? Are you referring to reframing failure, or something else?”
Within minutes, the comment was deleted, Putri was blocked, and Damar issued a now-viral post lamenting “the toxic culture of interrogation that’s killing creator mental health.”
Sources close to the situation report that the clarification request was made “in good faith,” leading experts to conclude it was likely a direct attack on the author’s personal brand.
By late afternoon, Damar had assembled a five-person moderation unit titled the Engagement Integrity Taskforce, charged with removing “non-affirming energy” from all future posts.
The Engagement Integrity Taskforce (EIT), has already implemented sweeping new moderation policies.
These include:
Automatic filtering of phrases such as “can you explain,” “how so,” and “do you have a source”
A new “auto-like” bot that artificially inflates comment sections with affirming replies such as “THIS 🔥” and “You always say what I’m thinking but better.”
A content warning label for any user who shares external links or evidence that contradicts a post.
In a press release, the EIT outlined its mission to “cultivate digital environments where agreement is abundant and nuance is aggressively minimized.”
Putri, the original commenter, has reportedly moved on, telling reporters:
“Honestly, I just wanted to understand what he meant. I wasn’t expecting to be flagged as a high-risk engagement vector.”
Damar explained that the blocking was part of a larger initiative to protect his growing community of nearly 14,000 followers, who rely on his weekly inspirational metaphors to maintain baseline emotional stability.
“Clarification questions, while often disguised as curiosity,” Damar wrote, “are actually microaggressions rooted in intellectual elitism. I’m building a safe space for open dialogue, and that means not all dialogue is welcome.”
Critics of the move have pointed out that the phrase “safe space for open dialogue” is possibly the most self-negating sentence since “strategic authenticity.”
LinkedIn has declined to comment on the incident, although a spokesperson did confirm the platform is “exploring new features to allow creators to pre-block users who might ask critical questions in the future.”
We write the headlines that haven’t happened yet, but probably will. Subscribe to The Rambutan for Southeast Asia’s sharpest fake news.