Indonesian minister's video altered with AI to spread Ramadan aid hoax
- Published on March 5, 2026 at 08:22
- 3 min read
- By AFP Indonesia
The Indonesian government has warned the public to beware of scams spreading online during the holy month of Ramadan, but an altered video of the country's finance minister supposedly giving away a "holiday allowance" from recovered graft funds has misled social media users. The clip was made with AI using footage from an old interview with the official, where he spoke about the performance of a state-owned bank.
The video shared on Facebook on February 23, 2026 appears to show Indonesian Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa saying the government would distribute a "holiday allowance" to people who have not received other forms of social assistance.
"I have prepared 10 trillion rupiahs (US$590 million) to be disbursed, which are funds confiscated from those convicted of corruption. This is the people's money and will return to the people. Please immediately share this so more Indonesian people can receive assistance today," he says, speaking in Indonesian.
Sticker text on the video asks viewers to comment if they have not received the assistance, while its caption links to a WhatsApp chatroom and asks people to reach out there.
Indonesia announced a stimulus package ahead of Ramadan, distributing more than 12 trillion rupiah (US$760 million) towards transport discounts and food aid for the period of the holy month and the subsequent Eid al-Fitr holiday (archived link).
The festive season however, has prompted warnings about an increase in scams from Indonesia's Financial Services Authority, as transactions are expected to rise with people wanting to send donations or make purchases to prepare for Eid (archived here and here).
The purported video of the finance minister spread elsewhere on TikTok, attracting more than 2,400 comments from users, some of whom left their bank details in the hopes of receiving the aid.
"Alhamdulillah, I hope I get it for my kid to celebrate Eid al-Fitr," one of the comments says.
"Sir, I haven't got any assistance," another wrote.
But the government has not announced any such aid, and Ministry of Finance spokesperson Deni Surjantoro told AFP on March 5, 2026 the circulating video was manipulated with AI.
"Until now there has never been any government policy, including from the Ministry of Finance, that promises the distribution of holiday allowances (THR) to the public, funded by money confiscated from corrupt officials," he said on March 5, 2026.
A reverse image search on Google found the circulating video corresponds to a genuine news report by local news outlet ntvnews.id, which was shared on TikTok on October 6, 2025 (archived link).
The video shows Purbaya during a surprise inspection at the state-owned Mandiri Bank, with the circulating clip matching an interview conducted as the minister leaves the bank's premises.
In contrast to the circulating video, where the minister is seen standing still as he speaks, the original video shows him walking through an administrative building and speaking about a stimulus package he gave the bank and its subsequent performance.
At no point does he mention an aid package for Ramadan.
The video is credited to Purbaya's office, which uploaded a similar video to his TikTok account on the same day (archived link).
The circulating clip also contains features indicating it was altered with AI, including a person that blurs as they move into frame and lines on the ceiling panels that appear and reappear as Purbaya's head moves.
AFP uploaded the video to the Hive Moderation detection tool, which indicated a 77.8 percent chance the footage was AI-generated, and a 99.9 percent chance the audio was generated (archived link).
AFP previously debunked a different scam offering free internet access for Ramadan.
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