Doctored photo circulates after Indonesian senior minister hospitalised

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on October 26, 2023 at 10:42
  • 3 min read
  • By AFP Indonesia

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An altered image appearing to show Indonesian senior minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan in a hospital bed treated by a nurse has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media following reports he had suffered "extreme fatigue". Luhut -- often called "minister of everything" owing to his wide influence in Indonesian politics -- said on his personal Instagram page he was receiving treatment in Singapore and urged people not to fall for any "strange photos" of him circulating online. The altered image was made using a stock photo featured on the website of an Indonesian hospital.

"Deep blessings for Grandpa Luhut Binsar Panjaitan," reads Indonesian-language sticker text on a video featuring the altered image, which was posted on TikTok on October 7, 2023.

It has since racked up more than 555,000 views.

"Luhut Binsar Panjaitan reported sick," text on the video continues. The rest of the clip shows screenshots of headlines about Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs, being taken ill (archived link).

Screenshot of the false post, captured October 18, 2023

Luhut was reported ill by Indonesian state-run news agency Antara on October 6, 2023 (archived link).

In a statement on Instagram on October 10, the minister said he had experienced "extreme fatigue" and was sent to a hospital in Jakarta (archived link).

The minister -- one of the most influential officials in Indonesia who is known as "minister of everything" -- has since been receiving medical treatment in Singapore, according to another statement posted to his official Instagram account on October 17 (archived links here and here).

The altered image has also been shared on TikTok here and here, Instagram here, and video sharing site Snack Video here and here, racking up more than 537,000 views.

However, no official photos of Luhut in hospital have been released as of October 23, 2023.

Luhut has urged people not to fall for "strange photos" of him being circulated online in the voiceover of a video posted alongside his Instagram statement on October 17, 2023 (archived link).

Altered image

A Google reverse image search led to a similar photo of a nurse treating a patient in bed on the official website of Ananda Hospital, located in Bekasi city of West Java Province (archived link).

Below is a screenshot of the Ananda Hospital website:

Screenshot of the Ananda Hospital website

The face of the patient lying in bed appears to have been swapped for a distorted image of Luhut, similar to a photo of the minister published by Antara in April 2023 (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison of the original image from Ananda Hospital (left), the altered image (centre) and a photo of Luhut published by Antara (right), with corresponding features marked by AFP:

Screenshot comparison of the original image from Ananda Hospital (left), the altered image (centre) and a photo of Luhut published by Antara (right)

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