‘What is real?’: Coordinated disinformation targets Indonesia protesters, distorting student‑led protest narratives
JAKARTA, Sept 3 — Disinformation about recent anti-government protests in Indonesia has inundated social media in...
Indonesia's anti-government protests, which have been ongoing for a year, have been targeted by coordinated disinformation campaigns on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. AFP fact-checkers have debunked numerous posts about the student-led demonstrations, exposing false claims and misleading footage. Activists fear that these hoaxes are discouraging people from participating in the protests and spreading fear among civilians.
Police have detained hundreds of individuals in connection with recent protests, including 65 suspects suspected of being "provocateurs." The motives behind the disinformation campaigns appear to vary, including financial gain, with some suspects allegedly receiving orders or payment from others to produce and distribute the content.
Ismail Fahmi, founder of data analytics company Media Kernels Indonesia, found evidence of a campaign amplifying threats of looting and unrest while downplaying protesters' demands. Another analysis by Ika Idris revealed that almost all X posts came from accounts displaying coordinated behavior, with one video viewed over 1.9 million times falsely presenting aerial footage of a massive student protest as evidence of unreported large-scale rallies.
These coordinated efforts have created confusion about the protesters' goals and may have contributed to delegitimizing legitimate demonstrators in the public's perception.
Written by urgent.news from Malay Mail's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
