What is circulating vs the facts

What is circulating

“"We have achieved, in a short time, food security, food self-sufficiency," Prabowo told Kadin on 31 July 2026, after declaring national food self-sufficiency on 7 January 2026.”

Claimed by Prabowo Subianto, President · official statement

The facts

Indonesia still imports large volumes of staple foods: BPS recorded 466,087 tonnes of garlic imports in 2025, and the National Food Agency's June 2026 balance projects 2026 deficits of 2.49 million tonnes for soybeans and 694,770 tonnes for garlic. The same projection expects imports of about 2.64 million tonnes of soybeans and 321,660 tonnes of beef and buffalo meat in 2026, so the claim holds at most for rice.

Fact check: Kompas.com Cek Fakta

What is circulating

“In a prime-time election security speech, Trump said the government had "identified approximately 278,000 noncitizens who are registered to vote in federal elections."”

Claimed by Donald Trump · official statement

The facts

FactCheck.org found the figure unsupported: DHS has not published its methodology and experts say it is likely highly inaccurate. About 250,000 came from a four-state review DHS described as "may be as many as", and about 28,000 came from the SAVE tool across 68 million records, or about 0.04%, a tool that has previously flagged U.S. citizens. Neither Trump nor DHS said any of these people voted.

Fact check: FactCheck.org

What is circulating

“The DPR officially rejected the Asset Forfeiture Bill in July 2026.”

Claimed by Posts on Facebook, Instagram and Threads · social media

The facts

The DPR confirmed the bill is on the 2026 priority national legislation programme (Prolegnas) and has not been rejected. Kompas rated the posts from 13 July 2026 a hoax.

Fact check: Kompas.com Cek Fakta

What is circulating

“Bahlil announced eight new taxes, including on bicycles and watches priced from Rp1 million, smart TVs and two-door refrigerators.”

Claimed by Social media posts · social media

The facts

There is no government plan for these taxes and no statement from Bahlil about them. As energy minister he has no authority over taxation, which sits with the Finance Ministry's tax directorate, and the goods listed are already subject to VAT.

Fact check: Kompas.com Cek Fakta

What is circulating

“A photo shows the People's Party's information operations (IO) office on the fifth floor of its building, as confirmed by a former MP.”

Claimed by Facebook account · social media

The facts

A reverse image search traced the photo to a South Korean news article of 23 May 2023 about PC bangs, or internet cafes. Party spokesperson Pakamon Noon-anan said the photo does not show party premises, and Thai PBS Verify found the setting differs from areas previously shown to journalists.

Fact check: Thai PBS Verify

What is circulating

“Sen. Elizabeth Warren posted on X on 5 June 2026: "If you live near one of these large data centers, your electricity bills over the last five years have gone up by as much as 267%."”

Claimed by Elizabeth Warren · social media

The facts

PolitiFact rated the claim Mostly False. The 267 percent figure, from a Bloomberg analysis, measured wholesale prices at some grid locations near data centers between 2020 and 2025, and wholesale supply makes up only about 30 to 50 percent of a household bill. Average U.S. residential electricity costs rose 42 percent over five years, though data center demand did raise capacity costs in the PJM market by $9.3 billion.

Fact check: PolitiFact

What is circulating

“Sen. Bernie Sanders posted on X on 12 June 2026: "Today, Elon Musk, a trillionaire, pays the same amount into Social Security as someone making $184,500."”

Claimed by Bernie Sanders · social media

The facts

PolitiFact rated the claim Mostly True. Wages above the 2026 cap of $184,500 are not subject to Social Security tax, so the maximum employee payment is $11,439. Musk takes no Tesla salary and a SpaceX filing shows $54,080, so in years without payroll-taxed stock compensation he could pay less than a worker earning $184,500.

Fact check: PolitiFact

What is circulating

“Former National Nutrition Agency head Dadan Hindayana, detained by prosecutors, said Jokowi received a Rp2 trillion bribe from the free meals programme (MBG).”

Claimed by Social media users · social media

The facts

Dadan was detained by the Attorney General's Office on 3 June 2026 with two former deputy heads, Lodewyk Pusung and Sony Sonjaya, as suspects in alleged mismanagement of the MBG programme in 2025 to 2026. The viral headline was altered from a Gelora News article reporting their detention, and there is no valid report of Dadan naming Jokowi.

Fact check: Kompas.com Cek Fakta

What is circulating

“After meeting Prabowo, National Economic Council chair Luhut Pandjaitan announced that social aid will become cash and every Indonesian will receive Rp5.4 million.”

Claimed by Social media users · social media

The facts

Luhut's council is preparing a digital single ID system to transfer social aid in cash to eligible recipients, but the council's spokesperson Jodi Mahardi said on 11 June 2026 that Rp5.4 million is not a new payment for every citizen. He said the figure illustrates the maximum combined value of existing social protection programmes, and actual benefits vary by household eligibility.

Fact check: Kompas.com Cek Fakta

What is circulating

“President Prabowo has officially abolished the free meals programme (MBG) and replaced it with cash.”

Claimed by Facebook posts · social media

The facts

The posts from 16 June 2026 appeared amid a corruption case involving former National Nutrition Agency leaders, but no decision to end MBG had been made. Kompas has debunked versions of this claim repeatedly since late 2025.

Fact check: Kompas.com Cek Fakta

What is circulating

“Responding to criticism of the President's foreign trips, Teddy said on 1 June 2026 that about Rp2,430 trillion of investment had come in over 1.5 years as a result of Prabowo's overseas visits.”

Claimed by Teddy Indra Wijaya, Cabinet Secretary · official statement

The facts

BKPM totals mix foreign and domestic investment; foreign direct investment, the part linked to overseas trips, was about Rp1,396.7 trillion during Prabowo's term, with domestic investment at Rp1,486.1 trillion. An economist also noted BKPM's 2025 foreign investment figure of about Rp900 trillion differs sharply from Bank Indonesia's Rp353 trillion.

Fact check: Kompas.com Cek Fakta

What is circulating

“A Zoom briefing on the Strait of Hormuz featured Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Minister Indranee Rajah asking a businessman for urgent funds.”

Claimed by Scammers impersonating the Secretary to the Cabinet · social media

The facts

Singapore police said the call was fabricated with deepfakes of the officials, after a victim lost at least S$4.9 million. Footage released on 16 May 2026 showed speech out of sync with lip movements, all audio coming from a single account and a distorted background. Police said government officials never ask the public to transfer funds.

Fact check: Singapore Police Force · Fact check: The Star

What is circulating

“Photos show a border fence being built near boundary pillars 52 to 54 in Chanthaburi as part of a Thai-Cambodian border fence.”

Claimed by Facebook page Chanthaburi News Alert · social media

The facts

The photos are genuine and showed no signs of AI generation. The Royal Thai Army has been building the fence since late April 2026: about 1.3 kilometres long and 170 centimetres high, with plans to extend it to pillar 59 for roughly 8 kilometres in total. A Thai PBS reporter confirmed the stretch was complete while checkpoints stayed closed.

Fact check: Thai PBS Verify

What is circulating

“Senator Angkhana Neelapaijit urged Thais to help Cambodians build shelters from the rain.”

Claimed by Threads account · social media

The facts

Thai PBS Verify found no report, interview or record of the statement or any related campaign. Angkhana told the fact checker by phone that she never said it and called the quote entirely fake. It was one of several fabricated quotes attributed to her about Cambodia in 2026.

Fact check: Thai PBS Verify · Fact check: Thai PBS Verify

What is circulating

“Viral posts in May 2026 said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called China a "cancer" and quoted her as asking: "If Europe cannot defeat Russia, how should we defeat China?"”

Claimed by Posts on X and the Brussels Signal website · social media

The facts

Euronews found both claims distorted and out of context. At the Lennart Meri Conference in Estonia on 17 May 2026, Kallas used a medical analogy about responding to China's economic influence, comparing subsidies to morphine and tougher measures to chemotherapy, and the moderator called the posts a grave distortion. The Russia line was a shortened paraphrase of remarks at a Hudson Institute event on 27 February 2025, recirculated as new.

Fact check: Euronews

What is circulating

“A 29 May 2026 post viewed more than 230,000 times said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that women's spaces "should be available for everyone."”

Claimed by X post and Facebook and Instagram shares · social media

The facts

AAP FactCheck rated the claim False. In an ABC interview on 28 May 2026, Albanese said "It's important that women's spaces be available for women," as confirmed by the broadcast audio and the official transcript. He was answering a question about an opposition plan to amend the Sex Discrimination Act.

Fact check: AAP FactCheck

What is circulating

“In a Spanish-language video on X on 20 May 2026, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Cubans they endure 22 hours a day without electricity "not due to an oil 'blockade' by the US."”

Claimed by Marco Rubio, Secretary of State · social media

The facts

PolitiFact rated the claim Half True. Cuba's blackouts date to the early 1990s and reflect long neglect of the grid, which needs 110,000 barrels of oil a day but can produce 40,000. But Cuba's oil imports fell to zero by the end of January 2026 after a U.S. executive order threatened tariffs on suppliers, and blackouts have worsened since, which an expert said the U.S. aggravated but did not create.

Fact check: PolitiFact

What is circulating

“A newspaper clipping shows Prabowo held Jordanian citizenship.”

Claimed by Social media users · social media

The facts

The clipping is from Harian Kompas of 22 December 1998, which relayed a report by the Jordanian daily Al-Ra'i that Jordan's cabinet had approved citizenship for Prabowo. In a fax to Kompas at the time, Prabowo said he had to decline the offer because Indonesia does not allow dual citizenship, and no record shows he took up Jordanian citizenship.

Fact check: Kompas.com Cek Fakta

What is circulating

“Coordinating Minister for Law Yusril Ihza Mahendra said Jokowi's diploma "is legally valid" and asked why it was only being questioned now.”

Claimed by Facebook posts · social media

The facts

Kompas found no credible record of Yusril making the statement; the posts paired a photo of him with an invented caption. The quote is fabricated.

Fact check: Kompas.com Cek Fakta

What is circulating

“A statement bearing the Education Ministry logo gave a breakdown and analysis of the 2025 SPM examination results.”

Claimed by Social media users · social media

The facts

Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh called the statement '101% incorrect', and its figures matched no official announcement. The ministry released 2025 SPM results nationwide at the same time, 10am, and later posted its own clarification. The Star rated the claim false on 1 April 2026.

Fact check: The Star