End Disinformation Attacks on Indonesian Activists
Indonesian civil society is being targeted by state-backed disinformation – act now to defend their right to speak out.
What’s the problem?
Since President Prabowo Subianto took power in October 2024, authorities and state-aligned actors have used disinformation to discredit civil society by falsely labelling them as ‘foreign agents’. Mis- and disinformation mirroring this rhetoric spread widely across social media platforms, portraying human rights defenders, journalists and protesters as an “enemy” manipulated by foreign powers. State actors played a key role through their social media accounts in disseminating disinformation, including through coordinated campaigns.
Under international law, civil society organizations and media outlets can access international funding, which is often essential for exercising the right to freedom of association. Still, under President Prabowo’s Indonesia, civil society actors that are critics of the government often faced disinformation attacks based on distorted claims that they want to “undermine” or “divide” Indonesia due to the fact they received foreign funding or other support from overseas actors.
The consequences are serious. Mis- and disinformation, in many cases justified or encouraged offline violence. They also caused the chilling effect leading many activists and journalists to self-censor, avoid coalitions or reduce their public visibility to protect themselves from online attacks. This climate of fear is violating freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association and the right to defend human rights.
I received so many direct messages from anonymous users. I assume they are the ones who believe the disinformation out there about me. Some threatened to kill me. One of them said, ‘Your head will fall to the ground.’
Greenpeace Indonesia activist Iqbal Damanik
Tech companies are failing to act. Much of such harmful content remains publicly accessible, spreads virally and is not adequately addressed. Platforms have not done enough to assess risks or protect those targeted.
This must stop.
What can you do to help?
Sign the petition and call on the Indonesian authorities and Tech companies to take action now.
We call on Indonesian authorities to:
- End disinformation campaigns and hold state actors accountable
- Investigate disinformation attacks on activists and journalists, especially those associated with offline violence
We call on tech companies to:
- Remove disinformation and the networks spreading it
- Improve content moderation, in consultation of at-risk civil society actors, to prevent harmful content spreading
- Provide remedy to those targeted
Stand with civil society in Indonesia. Demand action now.