The face of fake news: plastic surgery hoax becomes latest disinformation scandal in Indonesia ahead of 2019 poll
An opposition campaigner’s bizarre deception has shone a light on the problem of online misinformation in the world’s 4th most populous country
An Indonesian anti-government activist’s secret plastic surgery procedure has spiralled into the country’s latest fake news scandal ahead of next year’s presidential polls and bruised a former army general’s ambitions to unseat incumbent Joko Widodo.
The bizarre case began last month when former actress Ratna Sarumpaet, 69, a member of ex-general Prabowo Subianto’s campaign team, told family that her swollen face and eyes were the result of a politically motivated attack.
Ratna claimed that three unidentified men had assaulted her on September 21 in Bandung, a city two hours from the capital Jakarta.
Photos of Ratna went viral on the internet, with Prabowo springing to her defence. In a news conference, the presidential challenger said Ratna was “traumatised” and he would speak to the police chief about the “human rights abuse”.
One by one, Prabowo’s political supporters, including Muslim leader Amien Rais – a key figure in the reform movement that forced the resignation of President Suharto in 1998 – voiced their support for Ratna and demanded an investigation into the assault.
