Video shows protest by Afghan refugees, not 'Chinese workers' in Indonesia

This article is more than one year old.
Published on February 1, 2023 at 13:53
Updated on February 1, 2023 at 15:14
3 min read
By AFP Indonesia

A video has been viewed more than a million times after it was shared alongside a false claim that it shows foreign Chinese workers protesting in the Southeast Asian nation. The posts circulated after a fatal clash at a nickel plant in Indonesia's Sulawesi island in January 2023. However, the video clip actually shows Afghan refugees protesting in Indonesia's Riau islands, in 2021.

The video has been viewed more than 984,000 times since it was shared here on January 19, 2023.

The one-minute, 19-second clip shows police officers arguing with a group of people.

"I will arrest you because you violated a rule in Indonesia," an officer can be heard saying in Indonesian.

The post's caption reads: "Crazy.. ! Foreign Chinese workers have dared to protest! Who should be held responsible?"

The text superimposed on reads: "Do you think this is your ancestor's land, Xi Jinping" -- referring to the Chinese president.

It also says: "If the communist foreign Chinese workers are arrogant, kick them out and send them back to their country".

A screenshot of the misleading post, taken on January 27, 2023

The claim was shared online days after a clash at a Chinese-funded nickel smelting plant on the mineral-rich Indonesian island of Sulawesi, which broke out during a protest over labour conditions, left at least one Indonesian worker and one foreign Chinese worker dead.

The video has been viewed at least 296,000 more times after it appeared with a similar claim here, here, here and here on Facebook; here on TikTok; and here on YouTube.

However, the claim is false.

The footage dates back to a 2021 protest by Afghan refugees in Tanjungpinang -- the capital of the Riau Islands, an Indonesian province.

Keyword searches on Google found this video, which was streamed on Facebook by Ulasan Network, a news outlet based in Tanjungpinang, on November 2, 2021.

Translated to English, the video's caption reads: "Live: Argument between police officers and Afghan refugees about their protest march."

Some people seen in the Ulasan footage can also be seen in the video in the false posts.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip in the misleading post (left and centre) and the video posted by Ulasan (right), as highlighted by AFP:

Screenshot comparison of the clip in the misleading post (left and centre) and the video posted by Ulasan (right)

A corresponding photo of the protest also appeared in this report, published by Ulasan on the same date.

The article's headline reads: "Hundreds of Afghan refugees in Tanjungpinang hold a protest again."

According to the Ulasan report, the Afghan refugees protested to demand certainty from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees about their resettlement to a third country.

AFP geolocated the video to a road in Tanjungpinang on Google Street View:

Below is a screenshot comparison between the video in the misleading post (left), the video taken by Ulasan (centre) and the location on Google Street View (right):

Screenshot comparison between the video in the misleading post (left), the video taken by Ulasan (centre) and the location on Google Street View (right)

The same protest by Afghan refugees was covered by several other local media outlets, including here and here.

AFP debunked other misleading posts about foreign Chinese workers in Indonesia here and here.

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