Buzzer Serang Bahlil Lahadalia, Volunteers Complain To The Police: This Is Not Criticism, But Coordinated Slander

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia (Between)

JAKARTA - The PILAR 08 volunteer organization reported a number of buzzer accounts to the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police Headquarters, Jakarta, last Monday on suspicion of spreading false news, hate speech, and provocative memes aimed at the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources as well as Chairman of the PILAR 08 Board of Trustees, Bahlil Lahadalia.

General Chairperson of PIRA 08 Kanisius Karyadi said that his party found a pattern of massive and coordinated distribution of content by several buzzer accounts.

The content, he continued, contained false information, accompanied by photos and videos of edited memes with a hate tone and provocative nature.

"The actions of the reported parties clearly incite the public to hate Pak Bahlil Lahadalia. verbal attacks on the private sphere have also increased, which has the potential to widen polarization in public spaces," Kanisius said in a statement in Jakarta, Antara, Tuesday, October 21.

According to him, this action cannot be categorized as a criticism of public policy, but rather a systematic effort to build hostility and hatred towards Bahlil.

Secretary General of PIRA 08 Arianto Burhan Makka emphasized that his party respects freedom of expression, but rejects all forms of slander and hate speech that threaten the reputation of individuals and social order.

"This kind of problem not only injures the dignity of individuals who are targeted, but also damages public trust and has the potential to trigger social conflict," he said.

He added that the impact of the online attack also spread to the private sphere, including Bahlil's family and environment, in the form of cyberbullying.

Meanwhile, the Head of Legal and Advocacy Division of PILAR 08 Hanfi Fajri said that his party had submitted evidence in the form of screenshots of uploads, re-distribution recordings, and analysis of account network patterns suspected of coordinating with each other.

"Criminal elements have been fulfilled, ranging from the spread of fake news, hate speech, defamation, to the spread of misleading content in the form of memes," he said.

The report refers to Article 28 paragraph (2) jo. Article 45A paragraph (2) of Law Number 1 of 2024 concerning the Second Amendment to Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE).

Hanfi asked the police to take firm action against the perpetrators, including intellectual actors and those who funded the dissemination of the content.

"PILAR 08 will continue to oversee this legal process to be completed, because buzzer activities like this have become a threat to social stability and government," he said.

He also appealed to the public to be wiser in social media, verifying every information, and avoiding provocative content that attacks individuals without facts.