Video does not show Indonesian politicians celebrating banned communist party

The eight-second video was posted to TikTok on August 20, 2023, where it has been viewed more than 2,700 times.

"PKI Victorious. Indonesian military, beware (of) the Nusantara Party," reads overlaid text on the video. "It would be dangerous if the PKI rose again and became victorious. Beware, people, don't be fooled by the Nusantara party."

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Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on September 14, 2023

Widespread killings and incarcerations targeting members and suspected sympathisers of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) were carried out across the country in 1965 and 1966, spearheaded by the military under the late Soeharto, a military general turned president (archived link).

The PKI has been effectively banned since the anti-communist pogrom and advocating its ideology is outlawed (archived link).

"The Nusantara Party" refers to the Nusantara Awakening Party (PKN), a new political party established in 2021 that will contest in a legislative election for the first time in February 2024 (archived link).

Its leader is Anas Urbaningrum, a former chairman of Indonesia's current opposition Democratic Party, from which PKN split (archived link).

The video has racked up 945,000 views after it was posted elsewhere on TikTok here and here, as well as on Facebook, on Instagram, and on video-sharing app SnackVideo. 

However, the claim is false.

Similar pronunciation

A combination of reverse-image and keyword searches found that the video first appeared online almost a year earlier.

An identical clip was posted on TikTok on September 20, 2022, by a lawyer called Andi Syamsul Bahri, who often uploads PKN-related videos (archived link).

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Screenshot of the genuine video, taken on September 14, 2023

In the genuine clip and the video shared in misleading posts, a group of people can be heard cheering: "Nusantara, rise up! Nusantara, rise up! PKN, victorious! PKN, victorious!" -- not "PKI". 

"PKN" is pronounced "pay-ka-en" in Indonesian while "PKI" is pronounced "pay-ka-ee". 

Syamsul, who is a PKN member, confirmed to AFP that he took the video. 

PKN Secretary-General Sri Mulyono told AFP that the video was filmed at a plenary meeting in Jakarta on September 19, 2022, and that he himself led the chanting.

"The PKN's slogan is 'Nusantara, rise up! PKN, victorious!' Yes, I yelled that slogan," Mulyono said via a WhatsApp message on September 12, 2023.

The party formally laid out its philosophy in 2022 -- there is no mention of communism in its ideology (archived link).

AFP previously debunked false claims that Indonesian President Joko Widodo attended a communist party event and that his son wore a T-shirt with a communist symbol.