Manipulated video shows Indonesia VP pick with 'fluent Arabic'

After Indonesia elected its youngest ever vice president Gibran Rakabuming Raka, an edited video appearing to show him speaking fluent Arabic made the rounds online. The footage earned him praise on social media in the world's largest Muslim majority country. However, the original video shows him speaking to a student in Indonesian.

"Gibran's response to a female student in Arabic goes viral," read Indonesian text on a SnackVideo post that shared the video on September 15.

The footage appears to show Gibran saying in Arabic: "You study hard, tomorrow there is an exam, so study well and be obedient."

Gibran, 36, was elected as Indonesia's youngest vice president in a February 14 vote hit by allegations of state interference and nepotism.

His father -- outgoing leader Joko Widodo, more popularly known as Jokowi -- was accused of engineering rule changes that allowed his eldest son to run for the job.

Image
Screenshot of altered video, taken on September 18, 2024

This clip, which garnered more than one million views on SnackVideo and YouTube, gained traction after the Prosperous Justice Party, an Islamic party, declared support for Gibran and his president-elect Prabowo Subianto.

The party had initially backed opponent Anies Baswedan and his running mate Muhaimin Iskandar.

Some social media users appeared to believe the video genuinely showed Gibran speaking Arabic.

"Well done, Mas Gibran, you are gold," one user commented.

Another wrote that he was "skilled but not arrogant, never flaunting his abilities".

Islamic school visit

However, the video shows Gibran at an event at which he spoke only in Indonesian.

A reverse image search of the edited clip found a YouTube video from Indonesian news outlet MerdekaDotCom on December 12, 2023 (archived link).

"Gibran's Brief Answer to a Female Student Asking for Tips and Tricks for Success," the Indonesian title read.

The two-minute video shows him visiting the the Al-Tsaqafah Islamic boarding school in Jakarta while campaigning ahead of February's elections, according to the video's description.

The exact moment shown in the edited video was taken from a longer broadcast of Gibran's address, which the school livestreamed on December 10 (archived link).

At the 31:17 mark of the video, he says in Indonesian: "The question is very general. Just study hard. You have an exam tomorrow, right? Study. And listen to the cleric."

Below is a screenshot comparison of the manipulated video (left) and the original footage (right):

Image
Screenshot comparison of the manipulated video (left) and the original footage (right)

Nowhere in the video did Gibran speak in Arabic.

Edited videos of Indonesian politicians mastering foreign languages spread widely ahead of the election.

AFP previously fact-checked fabricated footage purportedly showing Jokowi speaking Mandarin and Prabowo and Anies speaking Arabic.

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

Contact us