Edited TikTok photo sparks misinformation on Indonesia anti-corruption boss

Published on January 13, 2025 at 08:37
Updated on January 13, 2025 at 08:39
2 min read
By AFP Indonesia

After Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated the new head of the Corruption Eradication Comission (KPK) in December 2024, a doctored image spread on TikTok with a false claim it showed him appointing former Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok, to the post. But Prabowo named senior police officer Setyo Budiyanto as the new anti-corruption czar and the image is a fusion of two unrelated pictures.

"Prabowo inaugurated Ahok as KPK Chief today!! Mega corruption from Jokowi's (ex-Indonesian president Joko Widodo's) era will be hunted to the death," reads Indonesian-language text on a TikTok video shared on January 3 .

"Those who agree, come closer. Those who are corrupt must be panicking right now."

A popular politician, Ahok won praise as Jakarta governor for trying to clamp down on rampant corruption and clean up the traffic-clogged megacity (archived link).

He was the Indonesian capital's first non-Muslim governor in half a century and its first ethnic Chinese leader.

His downfall came quickly, however, after comments he made on the campaign trail during a re-election bid saw him accused of insulting Islam.

The video shared on TikTok appears to show Ahok speaking to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

Screenshot of the false post, captured on January 8, 2025

Similar videos spread widely on TikTok, racking up more than 2.3 million views.

But Prabowo, who took office in October 2024, in fact named police general Setyo Budiyanto as head of the KPK -- not Ahok -- on December 16 (archived link).

A Google reverse image search also found the original version of the picture shared on TikTok shows the new president speaking to Agricultural Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman -- not Ahok.

The original image was published by Indonesian state news agency Antara on October 23 (archived link).

According to the photo caption, it shows Prabowo with Sulaiman on October 1, shortly before announcing he was keeping him as a member of his cabinet.

A further reverse image search found the photo of Ahok's face superimposed onto that picture was published by local news outlet SINDOnews on August 3 (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison of the manipulated image (left) and the separate photos of Prabowo and Ahok that were fused together (right):

Screenshot comparison of the manipulated image (left) and the separate photos of Prabowo and Ahok that were fused together (right)

Ahok has not been appointed to any government position as of January 13.

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