TikTok video of Indonesian President Joko Widodo 'Bluetooth speaker giveaway' is doctored

Published on July 3, 2024 at 04:10
3 min read
By AFP Indonesia

An altered clip of outgoing Indonesian President Joko Widodo has been viewed millions of times in TikTok posts with a false claim that it shows him announcing a Bluetooth speaker giveaway as "souvenirs" before the end of his tenure. An official from the Indonesian president's office has told AFP there were no such plans. The clips were in fact taken from an unrelated press conference and a news bulletin.

The video was viewed more than six million times in a TikTok post published on April 19, 2024.

It appears to show a news anchor speaking about a viral video of the Indonesian president -- popularly known as Jokowi -- saying he will distribute souvenirs before stepping down.

The clip then cuts to Jokowi who appears to say: "In the name of Allah, at the end of my term as president of the Republic of Indonesia, I want to give free Bluetooth speakers as souvenirs to all Indonesian people."

He appears to give details of the promotional offer and asks TikTok users to comment "I want Mr President" on the post along with their city of origin.

Online offers for giveaways are a common tactic used by scammers on social media to obtain users' personal information. AFP has previously debunked similar campaigns here, here and here.

Screenshot of the altered TikTok video, captured on July 1, 2024

The video was also shared in similar TikTok posts here and here, prompting a flurry of comments from users who appeared to show interest in the purported offer.

Jokowi was constitutionally barred from running for a third term in Indonesia's presidential polls in February, which saw ex-general Prabowo Subianto elected as the next president of the world's third-largest democracy. Prabowo is due to take office in October.

But the claim is false. Juri Ardiantoro -- Deputy Chief of Staff of the presidential office's Information and Political Communication -- told AFP that there were no such plans to give away Bluetooth speakers.

Unrelated clips

Keyword searches on YouTube found the original video posted by the Indonesian Presidential Secretariat on March 4, 2024 (archived link).

It shows Jokowi at a press conference speaking about issues including a planned visit to Australia and rice prices -- but not a Bluetooth giveaway.

Jokowi's clothing, the podium and the Indonesian flags in the background are identical in both videos.

Below is a screengrab comparison of the false video (left) and the press conference (right):

Screengrab comparison of the false video (left) and the press conference (right)

Meanwhile, the clip of a news anchor speaking at the start of the doctored TikTok video was taken from a news bulletin that aired on April 18, 2024.

Google searches found the bulletin from Indonesia's Liputan 6 programme, which showed news readers Reno Reksa and Gracia Bern reporting on issues including the Champions League semi-finals and floods in Dubai (archived link).

The programme did not mention any plans by Jokowi to give away Bluetooth speakers.

Below is a comparison of the false video (left) and the original news bulletin (right):

Comparison of the false video (left) and the original news bulletin (right)

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