Photo doctored to claim it shows 'Indonesian president visiting top minister in hospital'

"This is the latest development regarding the health of Grandpa Luhut," reads an Indonesian-language post on X, formerly Twitter, published on October 17, 2023.

An accompanying photo appears to show the ailing minister in a hospital bed shaking hands with Jokowi, as Indonesian President Joko Widodo is popularly known. Also apparently visible in the image is Indonesia's Minister of Investment Bahlil Lahadalia (archived link).

"Even though he has not been very helpful advocating for the rights of religious minorities (including his own religion), his performance in other areas is already good enough. Rest well and get well soon," the post says.

Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan is a Christian, a religious minority in Muslim-majority Indonesia (archived link).

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on November 11, 2023

Luhut is the country's coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment. He has been nicknamed the "minister for everything" in media reports as a reflection of his clout in government (archived link). The 76-year-old has been receiving medical care at a hospital in Singapore for an unspecified illness (archived link).

The same photo purportedly showing Luhut with the president has also been posted elsewhere on X, as well as on video-sharing app SnackVideo, garnering more than 1,100 views.

However, the picture has been doctored -- the original image does not contain Luhut or Bahlil. It shows Jokowi with a former Indonesian vice president at a hospital in Jakarta in 2022.

'Weird photos'

Through a reverse image search on Russian search engine Yandex, AFP was able to track down the genuine image.

It was taken when Jokowi paid a visit to former vice president Try Sutrisno on December 12, 2022 at Gatot Soebroto Army Central Hospital in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta (archived link).

This photo was first published by the Indonesian Cabinet Secretariat on its website, before appearing in various local media including CNN Indonesia and Kompas.com (archived links here, here and here).

The image of Bahlil originates from a report in Indonesian online news outletTempo.co (archived link). The genuine shot shows him among a crowd of people during a visit to the island of Rempang on October 6, 2023.

Try's face has been replaced with Luhut's face in the doctored image, while Bahlil's photo is flipped horizontally and superimposed alongside the pair.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the genuine photo of Jokowi (left), the doctored picture (centre) and the genuine image of Bahlil (right), with corresponding elements marked by AFP:

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Screenshot comparison of the genuine photo of Jokowi (left), the doctored picture (centre) and the genuine image of Bahlil (right)

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

He posted a statement to Instagram four days later on October 10, saying he had experienced "extreme fatigue" and was receiving care in Jakarta, but would be transferred to a hospital in Singapore (archived link).

In a further statement about his condition, posted to Instagram a few days later, on October 17, the minister warned the public not to fall for "weird photos" of him circulating online (archived link).

On November 4, Luhut posted on Instagram that President Jokowi visited him in hospital in Singapore, including a photo from the visit (archived link). The picture shows the retired general standing and giving a military salute to the president.

Both Jokowi and Suryo Pratomo, the Indonesian ambassador to Singapore, said the hospital visit took place one day earlier (archived links here and here).

AFP debunked another altered image circulating in October 2023 that purportedly also showed Luhut lying in a hospital bed.