DPR suspects there are masterminds behind the spread of hoax video of student demonstrations

Deputy Chairman of Commission XIII of the DPR Andreas Hugo Pareira. ANTARA/HO-DPR RI

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission XIII of the DPR, Andreas Hugo Pareira, highlighted the widespread dissemination of videos of student demonstrations that were narrated as new events but were old events. He suspected that there was a mastermind behind the dissemination of the hoax video, as well as inviting the public to sort out information carefully because they were afraid it could cause division.

"These days, social media is being enlivened by videos of demonstrations called new events, but in fact it is an old incident. The public needs to be aware of such hoax content because it can threaten the unity and unity of the nation," said Andreas Hugo Pareira, Monday, August 10.

Andreas also invited the public to be careful when receiving information on social media. "Because, as the analysis of Monash University Indonesia, the phenomenon of old demo video content that is re-viralized seems as if this new incident is a pattern that is deliberately done to lead public opinion," he said.

"And if there are indications of deliberate intention like this, there is usually a mastermind behind the large number of issues. So it is very important for us to verify in depth the information that is on social media," continued Andreas.

Andreas also touched on the similarity of the same pattern of opinion-carrying as last year, even though the issues thrown to the public were different. "This is exactly like what happened in August last year which resulted in massive action due to issues thrown to the public. The issue that came up last year is suspected to have been moved. And just like now, it was issued ahead of the Independence Day commemoration," he said.

"But because the 'mastermind' has never been revealed clearly, the public has never known exactly the background of the incident. What emerges instead is creating a scapegoat," continued Andreas.

For this reason, the leadership of the Commission in the DPR which deals with Human Rights (HAM) affairs invites the public to maintain democracy. Andreas also appealed to all parties not to cause unrest among the public.

"We can learn from last year's events, which cost a lot, even to the point of taking the life of a citizen who knew nothing. Let's keep democracy healthy in order to avoid division. Expressing aspirations both directly and on social media is certainly the right of every citizen, but if it is used by certain parties for certain purposes, that is very dangerous," said Andreas.

On the other hand, Andreas encouraged the Government to take a stance regarding the phenomenon of old demo videos that were re-viralized.

"The government has a responsibility to maintain a balance between protecting civil liberties and the quality of public information," said the PDIP legislator from Dapil NTT I.

Social media has recently been crowded with video content of student demonstrations with narratives that mention information blocking because there is no coverage in national media. In fact, the videos that are circulating are footage from old demo events.

Monash University Indonesia researchers revealed that there were certain patterns for raising old videos of student demonstrations. According to Monash University, a number of posts contained old videos and edited videos related to student demonstrations. The video was made as if it were the latest action.

Monash University Indonesia also analyzed data on a number of social media platforms during July 26-August 1, 2026. From the analysis, 197 thousand uploads on X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook related to the demonstration were found. There were 63 thousand unique users found. The peak volume trend was on July 27 with 50 thousand uploads.

Not only that, Monash University Indonesia found a certain pattern for making the videos viral. Most of the video content turned out to be the result of a retweet that was considered impossible to do manually because the retweet time interval was less than one second.

Monash University Indonesia also saw a number of other patterns that were carried out to viralize the hoax content, including by using certain accounts. In the same analysis, narratives were found that described the occurrence of 'large', 'everywhere', 'simultaneous demonstrations throughout Indonesia', and potentially 'repeating the 1998 event'.

Because of the massive spread of hoax video content, a number of figures including influencers have spoken out about information suppression.