The image, which was a mock-up of a state of emergency alert screen taken from a YouTube video, came shortly after the House of Representatives planned to override the Constitutional Court’s rulings on the Regional Election Law. The plan would have favored the coalition of parties linked to president-elect Prabowo Subianto and outgoing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Although the picture only consisted of the national emblem, the Garuda Pancasila, on a blue background, its single line of "peringatan darurat” (emergency warning) about Indonesia’s state of democracy resonated with users across the country.

“After seeing these posts online, all my friends joined the campaign [by posting the image on social media],” Ahkamul Ihkam Mada, a law student at Hasanuddin University in Makassar, South Sulawesi, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Analysts and rights groups claimed that the image became one of the biggest factors driving thousands of students, activists, labor groups and public figures to rally in Jakarta and numerous cities on Aug. 22 to call on the lawmakers to abide by the court’s rulings.

By the end of the day, lawmakers eventually caved into the popular demand.

“This issue was the perfect opportunity for us to fight back against the many government policies that hurt our democracy,” said Ahkamul, who led the rally of students and professors from various universities in Makassar in front of the city’s legislative council building last week.