Fake quotes, AI photos and old videos: Indonesia's political hoaxes of 2026

Invented quotes on photo cards, arrest pictures made with artificial intelligence, real videos given a new date and government policies that were never announced. These were the most common kinds of false content about Indonesian officials that fact checkers rated over the past year.

NewsWLD reviewed 35 ratings of claims made by or about Indonesian officials, most of them published between November 2025 and November 2026 by Kompas.com Cek Fakta, ANTARA, Republika and InfoPublik, the government fact-check channel that cites turnbackhoax.id. Twenty-eight were rated false or hoaxes, six misleading and one true. Below, each claim is listed with the verdict and the organisation that checked it. Profiles of the officials named are in our officials directory.

Fabricated quotes attached to officials' photos

The simplest format was a photo of a well-known official with words they never said.

Claim: Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai said corruption "is a human right, anyone can do it as long as the KPK doesn't find out." Verdict: false. Kompas found no credible source showing Pigai ever said this and noted it was one of a series of invented Pigai quotes it debunked in 2026.

Claim: National Economic Council chair Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi went to flood-hit Sumatra only to make image-building content. Verdict: false. Kompas found no record of the remark, which circulated in December 2025 after Dedi's visit.

Claim: Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa asked President Prabowo to turn the free meals programme (MBG) into cash of Rp300,000 per pupil a month. Verdict: false. The Finance Ministry denied that he made any such proposal, Kompas reported in December 2025.

Claim: House Speaker Puan Maharani proposed raising taxes to fund aid for victims of the Sumatra floods. Verdict: hoax. Kompas found no such proposal in posts that circulated around 29 December 2025.

Claim: Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia announced eight new taxes, including on bicycles and watches priced from Rp1 million, smart TVs and two-door refrigerators. Verdict: hoax. Kompas said there is no government plan for these taxes and no statement from Bahlil. Taxation sits with the Finance Ministry's tax directorate, and the goods listed are already subject to VAT.

Pictures made with AI and doctored screenshots

Several hoaxes in late 2026 used images generated with artificial intelligence to show officials being arrested.

Claim: A photo shows Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya arrested by police internal affairs (Propam) over the illegal wiretapping of President Prabowo. Verdict: hoax. Kompas found the photo, shared from 9 November 2026, was generated with AI. Teddy is not among the people Bareskrim has named in the wiretapping case.

Claim: A photo shows Gibran Rakabuming Raka, then vice president, being led away after an arrest by Bareskrim over his high school equivalency certificate. Verdict: hoax. Kompas said the image was made with AI and no credible report of any arrest exists. The real background is a Supreme Court cassation ruling that annulled his school equivalency certificate, a separate administrative matter.

Claim: A video shows then Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati calling teachers "a burden on the state." Verdict: false. The Finance Ministry said on 19 August 2025 that the clip was a deepfake cut from her 7 August 2025 speech at ITB, where she discussed the cost of paying teachers and lecturers, Republika reported. The anti-hoax group Mafindo cited it to ANTARA as an example of manipulated content used to inflame the public.

Claim: Ponorogo Regent Sugiri Sancoko said former President Joko Widodo received a Rp280 billion fee in his case. Verdict: hoax. The KPK did detain Sugiri in November 2025, and in August 2026 the Surabaya Corruption Court sentenced him to 6 years 6 months for bribery and gratification linked to the sale of positions, CNN Indonesia reported. But Kompas found the news headline about Jokowi in the screenshot was manipulated, and no such article exists on the site it cited.

Real footage with the wrong date or context

Claim: A video posted on 10 November 2026, as students protested, shows Prabowo urging the public to stay calm about the current situation. Verdict: misleading. Kompas said the footage is real but was recorded during the 2025 protests, not in November 2026.

Claim: State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi announced a reshuffle that removed Purbaya as finance minister. Verdict: false. Kompas found in November 2025 that no such announcement had been made and that the video did not show one. Purbaya was later replaced by Suahasil Nazara in September 2026, according to Kompas, but that does not make the 2025 video accurate.

Claim: Prabowo announced he will restrict social media platforms such as TikTok and Facebook. Verdict: hoax. Kompas found no statement from Prabowo on the subject, and the photo used in the posts from early November 2026 was unrelated.

Policies that were never announced

Claim: Prabowo has made driving licences (SIM) valid for life. Verdict: hoax. Kompas said no such rule has been issued and licences must still be renewed every five years.

Claim: Prabowo has officially abolished the free meals programme and replaced it with cash. Verdict: hoax. The posts from 16 June 2026 appeared during a corruption case involving former National Nutrition Agency leaders, but no decision to end MBG had been made, Kompas said, adding that it had debunked versions of the claim repeatedly since late 2025.

Claim: Prabowo will close 800 state-owned enterprises at the end of 2026 to fund MBG. Verdict: hoax. ANTARA found the government is consolidating state enterprises, but there is no official information linking that process to the meals programme.

Claim: Prabowo promised to seize profitable rice mills and hand them to the Merah Putih village cooperatives. Verdict: hoax. Kompas found no such statement or policy.

Claim: Prabowo and Puan agreed to hand land damaged by the disasters to China, and Puan signed a deal. Verdict: hoax. Kompas found no evidence of any agreement.

Claim: The House of Representatives officially rejected the Asset Forfeiture Bill in July 2026. Verdict: hoax. The House confirmed the bill is on the 2026 priority legislation list and has not been rejected, Kompas reported.

Claim: Prabowo raised the salaries of all specialist doctors by Rp30 million. Verdict: hoax. InfoPublik, citing turnbackhoax.id, said the Rp30 million monthly allowance applies only to specialists posted in disadvantaged, border and island regions. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said payments began in January 2026 to about 1,100 specialists in those areas.

Scams that borrow officials' names

Claim: Dedi Mulyadi is offering Rp50 million in business capital via Facebook. Verdict: hoax. Kompas found the offer came from an unverified account using his photo and nickname, not his official page. Dedi has warned the public about scammers using his name.

Claim: A video shows former President Megawati Soekarnoputri announcing business capital aid, with recipients told to confirm via WhatsApp. Verdict: hoax. Kompas found no such programme and said the WhatsApp numbers followed a pattern typical of fraud.

The diploma hoaxes

Claims about former President Joko Widodo's university diploma produced a stream of false posts. The starting point is a police finding: on 22 May 2025 Bareskrim said forensic tests found his Gadjah Mada University (UGM) forestry diploma authentic, matching diplomas of three classmates, and that the complaint involved no criminal offence, ANTARA and Tirto reported. Civil suits and a defamation case against critics continued afterwards. In February 2026 the Central Information Commission ruled that the copy of the diploma used for his candidacy is public information, a transparency decision that did not address authenticity, Kompas TV reported.

Claim: "The Surakarta court judge has declared Jokowi's diploma fake." Verdict: false. Kompas found the citizen lawsuit was still at the evidence stage in January 2026 and the court had issued no such ruling.

Claim: Coordinating Minister for Law Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the diploma "is legally valid" and asked why it was only now being questioned. Verdict: hoax. Kompas found no credible record of the statement; posts paired his photo with an invented caption.

Claim: Prabowo summoned Jokowi to Merdeka Palace and told him to show his original diploma. Verdict: hoax. Kompas said posts from 10 March 2026 misused footage of a 3 March palace event to which Prabowo invited all former presidents and vice presidents.

Claim: UGM rector Ova Emilia was arrested over forging Jokowi's diploma and the university was shut down. Verdict: hoax. Kompas said the photo of her in a detainee vest shows signs of deepfake manipulation, no credible report of an arrest exists and UGM was not closed.

When officials' own figures did not hold up

Fact checkers also tested what officials themselves said, with mixed results.

• Bahlil, 7 December 2025, said electricity in Aceh was 93 percent restored. False, according to Kompas: he apologised two days later, and on 11 December his ministry put restoration at 36 percent.
• Dedi Mulyadi, 10 December 2025, said Bandung's surface is "far below sea level." False, according to Kompas, which cited 2024 BPS data putting the city at 650 to 800 metres above sea level.
• Prabowo, 14 August 2026, said first-half growth was the highest in 13 years. True, Kompas found, at 5.45 percent, although economists noted the effect of an early Eid and a low base.
• Prabowo, the same day, said 2025 investment created more than 2.7 million jobs. Misleading: BPS data show employment rose by 1.89 million between February 2025 and February 2026, Kompas reported.
• Prabowo said more than 71,744 schools had been repaired this year. Misleading: Kompas said that figure is the 2026 target, not work completed.
• Prabowo said one in four children is stunted. Misleading: the latest national survey put stunting at 19.8 percent, about one in five, Kompas said.
• Airlangga Hartarto, 21 October 2026, called 4.65 percent unemployment "the lowest since 1994." Misleading: Kompas said the figure matches BPS, but the comparison ignores how broadly BPS defines work and the large informal sector.
• Teddy Indra Wijaya, 1 June 2026, linked about Rp2,430 trillion of investment to the President's trips abroad. Misleading: Kompas said the total mixes domestic and foreign investment.
• Syahganda Nainggolan, head of the Government Communication Agency, said in October 2026 that forest fires were "truly nature." False: police investigators cited by Kompas said deliberate burning to clear land is the dominant cause found.

How to check before you share

Most of these posts could have been caught with a few simple steps.

1. Look for the original. A real statement by a minister or the President is usually reported by several outlets and posted on official accounts. A quote that exists only on a photo card, with no link, is a warning sign.
2. Check the date of a video. Old footage is often reposted during a new crisis. Search for key frames or for the event shown, and check when it was first published.
3. Look closely at arrest photos. AI images often have distorted hands, text or faces. Ask whether a major arrest would really appear first in an anonymous Facebook post.
4. Find the regulation. A new tax, a licence rule or the end of a national programme needs an official decision. If you cannot find it on a ministry or government website, treat the claim as unproven.
5. Be wary of aid offers. Officials do not hand out capital through personal messages or WhatsApp numbers. Check the account's history and verification.
6. Read what the court decided. Claims about rulings should match the court's own record or reliable reports of the verdict, not a caption.
7. Search fact-check sites first. Kompas Cek Fakta, ANTARA's fact checks, turnbackhoax.id and InfoPublik often rate viral posts within days. Background on the officials named here is in our officials directory.