Ideological Branding and the Construction of Financial Authority in Finfluencer Visual Representation: The Fantasy of Meritocracy

Abstract

The rapid growth of financial influencers (finfluencers) has transformed digital financial communication, making visual representation an increasingly important mechanism for constructing credibility and authority. This study examines how Timothy Ronald's Ronald Media Launch video constructs financial authority through symbolic visual communication. Employing a qualitative single-case study design, the research applies Roland Barthes' semiotic framework, supported by Critical Visual Methodology, to analyse narrative structure, visual symbolism, material properties, and institutional collaboration. The findings reveal that financial authority is progressively constructed through multiple forms of legitimacy. The Reflective–Private Phase establishes moral legitimacy through Visual Askesis, the Ideological Enlightenment Phase develops ideological, cultural, and technocratic legitimacy, while the Social Expansion Phase secures public legitimacy through spectacle, opinion leadership, and institutional collaboration. These interconnected forms of legitimacy are further reinforced through a coherent system of material properties that consistently communicates financial authority. The study proposes the concept of the Fantasy of Meritocracy to explain how ideological branding naturalizes financial success as the outcome of individual discipline, rationality, and visionary leadership while obscuring the structural conditions underlying economic opportunity. These findings contribute to communication studies by extending discussions of ideological branding and visual communication within Indonesia's digital financial ecosystem.