Video misidentifies corruption suspects as student protester

A video has circulated online claiming to show the arrest of a protester who insulted Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. However, this video actually shows women suspected of embezzling money from a public health center. The false claim emerged after a protest against austerity measures, where one demonstrator called Prabowo a "dog." This comment angered his supporters and led to the spread of misinformation online. The TikTok video, viewed over 37,000 times, falsely stated that the protester was a student leader from Airlangga University in Surabaya. Protests broke out across Indonesia in February against Prabowo's budget cuts aimed at funding a free-meal program and other campaign promises. The austerity measures had prompted large demonstrations led by students, fueled by a social media movement known as "Dark Indonesia." Supporters of the government were outraged by the demonstrator's remarks, calling them excessive. Even though the video claiming the arrest of the protester has been widely shared, there are no confirmed reports about her identity or detention as of March 18. The president of Airlangga University’s student body, Aulia Thaariq Akbar, stated that the woman is not part of their organization and none of their members were arrested. A fact check revealed that the video actually comes from an earlier report about two workers at a public health center in Central Java, who are accused of corruption. These workers allegedly misappropriated 1.9 billion rupiah (around $116,000) from 2017 to 2022.