No, this is not a genuine news report about Indonesia’s anti-graft agency planning to name a minister as a corruption suspect
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on May 6, 2019 at 09:26
- Updated on May 6, 2019 at 09:27
- 3 min read
- By AFP Indonesia
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The misleading video was shared on YouTube here on March 26, 2019, and has been viewed more than 200,000 times.
Below is a screenshot of the video:
The Indonesian language caption translates to English as: “Someone is panicking!!!! The KPK will soon name Puan Maharani as a suspect of e-ID corruption suspect”.
“KPK” refers to Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). This is its official Facebook page.
Puan Maharani is an Indonesian minister. She has served in President Joko Widodo’s cabinet as Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister since 2014. She was listed as the 26th minister in the Working Cabinet in this government press release on October 29, 2014.
This is her official Instagram account, and this is her photo shared on the official Twitter account of her ministry.
“Suspect of e-ID corruption” is a reference to the KPK’s investigation of alleged corruption related to an Indonesian electronic identity card project. This is a Jakarta Post report published on April 24, 2018, about the case.
Keyword searches about Puan Maharani found that the footage of her in the misleading video was taken from this clip posted by Indonesian news site Tribunnews on March 25, 2018.
Below is the genuine Tribunnews video:
Below is a screenshot of the misleading video (L) next to a screenshot of the Tribunnews video (R):
The comparison shows that in the misleading video, the Tribunnews logo on the top right corner of the screen has been cropped and removed, and the words “LIVE JAKARTA” and “UPIL NEWS” have been added, above the misleading caption claiming the minister will be named a corruption suspect.
The misleading footage was uploaded on a YouTube account called Upil Gajah, which claims to provide “POPULAR NEWS” but does not list any links to any mainstream Indonesian media groups on their profile, which can be seen here.
The original Tribunnews video shows her denying claims that she was involved in corruption.
Translated into English, the video title reads: “Denial of Puan Maharani for Setya Novanto's Faithful Statement Regarding Case E KTP”.
The Tribunnews video does not mention any plan by the KPK to name her a corruption suspect.
A reporter in AFP’s Jakarta bureau analysed the Indonesian-language audio in the misleading video and found it did not include a reference to KPK’s plans to name her a corruption suspect.
The first few sentences that can be heard in the misleading video translate into English as: “The Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister, Puan Maharani, disputed her involvement in the electronic ID card case. This daughter of Indonesian fifth president Megawati Soekarnoputri said about it in her office on Jalan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta on Friday.”
AFP searched the first sentences from the video on Google and found they came from this Tribunnews published on March 23, 2018.
Below is a screenshot of the Tribun news article:
The headline, translated to English, reads: “Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle politician Puan Maharani claims she did not receive electronic identity card money.”
The news article does not include any mention of a KPK plan to name her a corruption suspect.
KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo told AFP by phone that the claims in the YouTube video were false. “It is a hoax,” he said.
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