No, this image does not show Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s re-election campaign event held on prayer rugs

This April 3, 2019, post on Facebook shared the photo with a caption that, when translated into English, says: “The 01 camp always holds its event on prayer rugs ,,,, The media is silent,,, Let’s sink them, the religious blasphemers,,,.” The image shows women performing what looks to be a traditional Indonesian dance. 

Below is the screenshot of the post: 

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Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post

“01” is a reference to Widodo's ballot number in Indonesia’s April 17, 2019, presidential election. The number of his sole challenger, Prabowo Subianto, is “02”. Here is an official announcement by the Indonesian electoral commission on the ballot numbers.

This April 3, 2019, post, in a pro-Subianto Facebook group, also features the same picture. It has since been shared 12,000 times and is captioned, as translated into English: “Why do the 01 camp’s events always look like this...”

Google reverse image search results show the photo has no link to Widodo’s re-election campaign events. The photo previously appeared on several online reports dating back to 2016, including this report from Indonesian news website Merdeka.com.

Below is a side-by-side comparison between the Facebook photo and the Merdeka.com report:

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Image comparing the Facebook photo (L) and the photo on Merdeka.com website (R)

The English translation of the Merdeka.com report’s headline is: “Religious affairs minister says the dancers did not perform on prayer rugs or mosque carpets.” 

According to the report, dated January 5, 2016, the event depicted in the photo was a ceremony celebrating the ministry’s 70th anniversary held at the ministry’s provincial branch office in the capital Jakarta on January 3, 2016.

Widodo announced his re-election bid and his choice of running mate, Ma’ruf Amin, on August 9, 2018. Here is a Jakarta Post report from that day on the announcement.