2 Indonesians to face trial over deepfake videos involving president

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - Two Indonesians, who have been accused of using deepfakes involving President Prabowo Subianto and other officials to scam people, have been handed over to the prosecutors on Friday, local media reported.

The accused identified only by their initials JS and AMA, with no further identification, according to the daily Jakarta Globe.

“The investigation into the deepfake videos featuring President Prabowo and other government officials has been completed, and the suspects along with the evidence have been submitted to the prosecution,” said Himawan Bayu Aji, director of cybercrime at the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department.

Authorities believe the accused are connected to a larger criminal network that leverages AI technology.

The videos, which featured fake endorsements from high-level officials, were put on social media to lure people into a fraudulent aid registration scheme.

“We are still tracking other members of the syndicate. There are indications of roles similar to AMA’s, such as content creators, publication managers, and financial facilitators. Our goal is to dismantle the entire network,” Himawan said.

JS was circulating the deepfake creations through his Instagram account @indoberbagi2025, which had nearly 9,400 followers.

The manipulated content aimed to hearten the viewers to register for non-existent government benefits and provided a WhatsApp contact for the signup process.

Victims were later defrauded into transferring money for fake administrative fees.

According to police, JS targeted victims across 20 provinces out of the 38 provinces of the Southeast Asian nation.

By December 2024, JS had reportedly amassed around 65 million Indonesian Rupiahs ($3,859) from nearly 100 victims.