Indonesia's former health minister did not promote hypertension medicine during TV interview
- Published on February 17, 2024 at 09:09
- 4 min read
- By AFP Indonesia
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Purported screenshots and a transcript of an interview with Indonesia's former health minister Terawan Agus Putranto were posted here, on a page made to look like the official website of broadcaster Kompas TV.
Terawan, who served as health minister for 14 months until December 2020, had been embroiled in a number of controversies, including promoting an unproven "vaccine" for Covid-19 and introducing a "brainwash therapy" treatment for stroke patients (archived link).
He was removed from the Indonesian Medical Association in March 2022 for "serious ethical misconduct".
According to the purported article, dated February 3, 2024, he was commenting on the death of American actor Matthew Perry, who starred in the hit TV sitcom "Friends" from 1994-2004, and linked his death to drugs that treat hypertension.
US medical examiners say the beloved but troubled actor in fact died from a ketamine overdose at his Los Angeles home.
Terawan supposedly says during the interview that a "natural medicine" called Artinormee can be used to treat hypertension, and it can be bought "directly from its factory through the internet".
There is a form at the bottom of the website that users are invited to fill out with their name and phone number to get a 50-percent discount on the product.
Artinormee is registered with Indonesia's Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency (BPOM) as a traditional medicine to help relieve the symptoms of light hypertension (archived link).
The same purported article was also shared on other websites here and here.
But the interview video from which the images were taken did not touch on hypertension or treatments for the condition.
Kompas TV interview
A reverse image search on Google found the images were taken from a Kompas TV interview with Terawan, conducted by journalist Rosianna Silalahi that was published on YouTube here on July 8, 2022 (archived link).
The YouTube video is titled, "[Rosi Exclusive] Finally, Doctor Terawan is answering".
Part of the video's description reads: "Doctor Terawan Agus Putranto finally spoke up. Exclusively, Doctor Terawan answered a number of public questions to Rosianna Silalahi."
During the interview, Terawan talks about no longer being health minister, the Covid-19 pandemic and politics. He does not discuss hypertension or promote Artinormee.
The shot of Terawan sitting across from Rosianna occurs at the video's four-minute mark, and the second image showing him sitting in front of a framed photograph is shown at the video's 8:40 mark.
Below are screenshot comparisons between the images in the false article (left) and the Kompas TV footage (right):
A third image of the former health minister gesturing with his hands was lifted from the video's 58:18 mark and then mirrored.
Below is a screenshot comparison between an image in the false article (left) and the Kompas TV footage (right):
Yunita Tandililing, the producer of Rosianna's programme on Kompas TV, also told AFP on February 15, 2024, that the interview covered "Terawan's controversies since becoming the health minister, and his spat with the Indonesian Medical Association that led to revocation of his membership.
"So there was no discussion about hypertension medicine."
Online news outlet Kompas.com also debunked a similar claim about Terawan endorsing a hypertension drug during an interview with its sister company Kompas TV (archived link).
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