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Old video leads to disinformation about Indonesian opposition leader ‘demanding the release of a party member’

After Indonesia’s anti-graft watchdog named a senior opposition politician as a suspect in a corruption investigation, an old video spread online with a false claim of his party’s leader demanding his release. However, no announcement of Hasto Kristiyanto’s detention has been made as of January 21. The clip shows the head of the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), Megawati Sukarnoputri, arriving at a meeting in October 2023.

The TikTok video, which was viewed 7.3 million times after it was shared on December 25, 2024, shows former Indonesian president and Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) leader Megawati walking down a hallway.

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She is followed by other PDIP politicians, including Parliamentary Speaker Puan Maharani and Mahfud MD, who unsuccessfully ran for Indonesian vice president in the February 2024 elections.

According to Indonesian text on the video, Megawati and Puan are seen leaving the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) after demanding the release of the party’s Secretary General Hasto Kristiyanto.

The KPK accused Hasto of bribing a former senior Indonesian Election Commission official to secure a parliamentary seat for his colleague Harun Masiku (archived link).

Megawati reportedly said she would visit the KPK demand Hasto’s release if he was held (archived link).

However, there has been no announcement of Hasto’s arrest on January 21.

“Who says Megawati doesn’t dare to come to the KPK and keep her promise to free Hasto?” the text overlay is added.

<span>Screenshot of the fake video taken on January 14, 2025</span>” loading=”lazy” width=”960″ height=”643″ decoding=”async” data-nimg=”1″ class=”rounded-lg” style=”color:transparent” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/YNk9ezcAhsvGNn1SzEQ8yQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MD toPTY0Mw–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/afp_factcheck_us_713/688f39cccd239477a90267ed25942110″/><button aria-label=

Screenshot of the fake video taken on January 14, 2025

The video spread in similar posts on TikTok and SnackVideomisleading viewers who seemed to believe it was real showed Megawati demanding Hasto’s release.

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“The bull is getting stronger among the people of Indonesia,” one person commented, referring to the PDIP logo, which shows a bull with a white nose.

“PDIP is the strongest party, boss,” wrote another.

Campaign meeting

For online keyword searches, a longer version of the footage was found in a YouTube video from October 25, 2023 (archived link).

According to the text on the clip, Megawati is seen at a meeting that day in the Indonesian capital Jakarta with the campaign team of Ganjar Pranowo – who supported the PDIP in his failed bid for the presidency in February 2024.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the fake video (left) and the YouTube clip (right):

<span>Screenshot comparison of the fake video (left) and the YouTube clip (right)</span>” loading=”lazy” width=”960″ height=”473″ decoding=”async” data-nimg=”1″ class=”rounded-lg” style=”color:transparent” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/D8pzv_iod1O6u26N8dGzxg–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MD toPTQ3Mw–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/afp_factcheck_us_713/cea8da854be32a6930dfd228e1d24397″/><button aria-label=

Screenshot comparison of the fake video (left) and the YouTube clip (right)

A reverse image search of the video on Google found a photo of Megawati arriving at the same meeting, which was published by Indonesian news channel Liputan6 (archived link).

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The photo shows her wearing the same red scarf, bracelet and lapel pin as in the video.

Below is a screenshot comparison of Megawati’s outfit in the fake video (left) and in Liputan6’s photo (right):

<span>Screenshot comparison of Megawati’s outfit in the fake video (left) and in Liputan6’s photo (right)</span>” loading=”lazy” width=”960″ height=”375″ decoding=”async” data-nimg=”1″ class=”rounded-lg” style=”color:transparent” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/hsLRNQj2qlKh7zLrRFh7aA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MD toPTM3NQ–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/afp_factcheck_us_713/95f8399394aee5c53d3e9de430761c89″/><button aria-label=

Screenshot comparison of Megawati’s outfit in the fake video (left) and in Liputan6’s photo (right)

Since January 21, there have been no official reports of Megawati visiting the KPK regarding Hasto’s case.

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