Indonesians swindled by scams using President Prabowo deepfakes
Wide circulation
AFP's fact-checkers found the account behind the Prabowo clip has posted dozens of similar videos appearing to show various high-profile figures, including Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka.
Those videos also promote the bogus financial aid.
Police arrested a suspect who pocketed 65 million rupiah ($4,000) from the scam, Himawan Bayu Aji, director of the Indonesian National Cyber Crime Unit told reporters in February.
He said officers detained a second person involved in another scam that also used deepfake technology, without disclosing the amount raised.
AFP Fact Check's investigation found the spread of such videos had a much wider reach than the two accounts that police announced.
Deepfake videos of the president, a popular ex-general, were still circulating on social media after the arrests, including dozens on TikTok with the hashtag "Prabowo shares blessings".
At least 22 TikTok accounts were touting the same fraudulent scheme since Prabowo took office in October, AFP journalists found, with some appearing to take advantage of his recent rise to the presidency.
One account with more than 77,000 followers racked up 7.5 million views on a fabricated video of Prabowo apparently doling out financial assistance.
Another account with thousands of followers has shared 100 videos since January alone, the majority featuring deepfake videos of the president offering cash.
TikTok said it had removed one of the deepfake scam videos and the associated account, adding it would continue to remove any that violated the platform's community guidelines, which prohibit misleading posts.
Facebook parent Meta did not respond to AFP's request for comment.
AFP, along with more than 100 other fact-checking organisations, is paid by TikTok and Meta to verify social media posts that potentially contain false information.
Advertising by Adpathway
