Old videos of Indonesian governor misrepresented as 2025 visit to flood-hit areas
- Published on December 24, 2025 at 06:06
- Updated on December 24, 2025 at 10:41
- 3 min read
- By AFP Indonesia
Indonesian officials visited Sumatra after devastating floods killed over 1,000 people on the island in late 2025 -- the worst of its kind in recent years. Social media users circulated two videos online with a false claim that they showed West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi visiting the flood-affected areas, but the clips were actually filmed in his home province and predate the disaster.
"Thousands of residents in Aceh and Padang welcome West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi," reads the Indonesian-language sticker text overlaid on a TikTok clip shared on December 5.
It contains a video that shows a large crowd along a road, and another that depicts Dedi stepping out of his vehicle and being swarmed by people.
The clips circulated after major floods and landslides struck parts of Sumatra and Aceh, killing at least 1,110 people (archived link).
Costs to rebuild after the disaster could run up to 51.82 trillion rupiah ($3.1 billion), but the Indonesian government has so far shrugged off suggestions to call for international assistance (archived link).
Indonesian officials, including President Prabowo Subianto and Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian, visited the flood-hit areas after the disaster struck, promising support to those affected (archived here and here).
Comments indicate some users believed the false claim, which has spread elsewhere on TikTok and Facebook.
"Vote Dedi Mulyadi as Indonesia's president," one user wrote.
"Mr. Dedi is extraordinary," said another.
While the West Java governor uploaded footage of himself visiting flood-affected areas to his official YouTube account, the clips in the false posts are months-old and actually show him in his home province (archived here, here and here).
A Google reverse image search of keyframes led to a TikTok video dated September 6 showing the same scene in the first clip (archived link).
An announcer can be heard saying that Dedi was visiting the Suryalaya Islamic boarding school in Tasikmalaya, West Java.
Images on Google Maps Street View show the crowd in the clip was outside the school, which is over 1,500 kilometres (1,113 miles) away from Aceh, where Dedi visited (archived link).
A subsequent keyword search found a TikTok video showing the same scene in the other clip was shared on June 13 -- months before the disaster in Sumatra -- with the same people in the false video (archived link). The clip was uploaded a day after Dedi's visit to the province's Ciamis Regency to celebrate its 383rd anniversary (archived here and here).
The caption says "the enthusiasm of Ciamis residents in welcoming Governor KDM", using an abbreviation of Dedi's nickname.
Elements seen in images on Google Maps Street View of the area also match those in the TikTok video (archived link).
Dedi's clothing in the TikTok clip also differs slightly from what he wore during his actual visit to Sumatra in December 2025.
AFP has debunked other misinformation related to floods in Sumatra and Aceh.
Corrects "December 2025" in first line to "late 2025"December 24, 2025 Corrects "December 2025" in first line to "late 2025"
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