On 5 April 2026, a TikTok video titled “Andrie Yunus, a KontraS activist, DISGUISED as a democracy fighter, secretly receives funds from American Jews” gained traction across Indonesian social media. The post, which accused the human rights activist of being a “foreign stooge,” was part of a coordinated campaign that preceded an acid attack on Yunus in March 2026. The attack left him with severe burns and marked a turning point in the persecution of critics under Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, according to a report by Amnesty International.
The report, “Building up Imaginary Enemies,” details how military-linked accounts and anonymous networks have systematically disseminated disinformation to undermine activists, journalists, and academics. These campaigns, often framed as exposing “foreign agents,” have escalated since Prabowo’s election in October 2024, coinciding with widespread protests over corruption, environmental policies, and military expansion. The report found that false accusations of foreign funding or allegiance are used to delegitimize legitimate activism, with victims reporting increased risks of criminalization and physical harm.
Amnesty International’s research identified hundreds of social media accounts operating in unison to spread identical content across platforms including Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube. These accounts, many linked to military-affiliated profiles, amplified claims that activists like Yunus were “staging” attacks to attract foreign support. Despite investigations that led to the arrest of four military officers in Yunus’s case, disinformation persisted, with coordinated videos falsely alleging the attack was a fabrication.
Tempo, Indonesia’s leading independent news outlet, faced similar campaigns. In 2025, Instagram accounts posing as military units accused the publication of foreign funding after it reported critically on government policies. The harassment escalated with the delivery of a severed pig’s head and decapitated rats to its Jakarta office. Online narratives later dismissed these threats as “staged stunts” to solicit foreign aid, according to the report.
Greenpeace Indonesia activist Iqbal Damanik, who led protests against mining in Raja Ampat, received death threats via direct messages following disinformation campaigns. One user wrote, “Your head will fall to the ground.” A tweet in June 2025 falsely linked Damanik to armed groups in Papua, amplifying fears of violence. Such rhetoric, Amnesty noted, has created a climate of intimidation that extends beyond targeted individuals, discouraging public participation in activism, and journalism.
Amnesty International’s analysis revealed that Indonesia’s legal framework fails to protect those targeted by disinformation. A proposed law on “Countering Disinformation and Foreign Propaganda” risks further restricting free speech, with critics arguing it could be used to silence dissent. Agnès Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary general, condemned the government for enabling “toxic disinformation” while failing to shield activists. “The Indonesian government must protect journalists, activists, and protesters rather than enabling and disseminating toxic disinformation against them,” she said.
Meta, TikTok, X, and YouTube have faced scrutiny for allowing harmful content to remain online. Amnesty found that posts documenting disinformation campaigns often remained active for months, some for over a year. The organization contacted the companies twice, but only TikTok responded, pledging to “set up additional monitoring for this specific issue.” Callamard criticized the platforms for prioritizing engagement over human rights, stating, “Big Tech’s failures have contributed to the human rights harms documented in this report.”
Despite the risks, activists interviewed by Amnesty described resilience, adapting to threats and supporting one another. However, Callamard emphasized that the burden should not fall solely on them. “Meta, TikTok, X, and YouTube must stop disinformation, strengthen content moderation, and provide remedy to those harmed due to their failures,” she said. As the report highlights, the spread of disinformation in Indonesia continues to erode democratic spaces, with no clear resolution in sight.
