By
Tuhu Nugraha
Africa-Press – Mauritius. In August 2025, I witnessed firsthand how Indonesia was shaken by a deepfake video of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani. The manipulated footage—showing her delivering a speech that claimed “teachers are a burden on the state”—circulated for several days before events escalated. By the time demonstrations reached the DPR (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, Indonesia’s House of Representatives), infiltrators within the protest targeted not only DPR members but also Sri Mulyani herself. That night, potential targets were being named across social media feeds, mixed with WhatsApp rumors and urgent TV reports. Only later, after attacks and looting had already occurred, did media outlets clarify that the video was a deepfake. The damage was done.
The Sri Mulyani case illustrates how fragile democracies can be when structural vulnerabilities exist. Indonesia, like many countries in the Global South, faces a dangerous mix of low digital literacy, high social media consumption, wide economic inequality, and mass anxiety over losing jobs amid the transition to AI-driven economies. These factors create fertile ground for disinformation—seperti api dalam sekam, ready to flare with the smallest spark.
Deepfakes take many forms: face swaps, synthetic audio, or full-body manipulations. For the public, this means a politician can appear to confess corruption, a religious leader can seem to insult another faith, or a CEO’s voice can be faked to order a money transfer. Such manipulations could skew elections, inflame communal tensions, or even destabilize international relations. Beyond disruption, they corrode trust in institutions and enable the liar’s dividend—politicians dismissing real evidence as “just another deepfake.” Indonesia’s past experience with viral hoaxes shows how quickly falsehoods can shape political outcomes; deepfakes multiply that risk.
The Long Game: Regulation
China, India, and the EU are already experimenting with frameworks: labeling, platform accountability, and risk-based transparency. Indonesia must adapt these lessons, integrating provisions into the upcoming Cybersecurity Law (UU Keamanan Siber) and leading ASEAN in establishing a regional early-warning system. Implementation should involve a pentahelix consortium—government, academia, industry, civil society, and media—because the issue is as social as it is technical. Fiscal incentives or partnerships could encourage faster platform compliance. Collaboration should also extend to producing educational content, with academics, communities, and media working alongside creators to design fact-based narratives. Regulation will be vital, but Indonesia’s democratic process makes it a long-term solution.
The Quick Wins: Education and Informal Leaders
Public education can and must be mobilized immediately. In the demonstrations, a new intellectual middle class emerged, guiding crowds with critical thinking and calming emotions. Religious leaders remain equally important, trusted by older generations and rural communities to temper anger. Content creators—often from this intellectual class—are no longer just entertainers; many now produce positive, educational content that resonates with younger audiences. Together, these informal leaders complement each other and should be activated as frontline educators.
Platforms should be required to distribute AI-generated educational videos under one minute, teaching citizens how to spot and question suspicious content. Formats must be mobile-friendly, since most digital content in Indonesia is consumed on phones. Like mini-dramas or Korean dramas that subtly embed lessons, these clips should weave education into relatable stories—a family chat, a classroom debate, or even a soap-opera romance subplot. To ensure reach, platforms must push them onto timelines, prioritizing vulnerable groups: low-income communities, senior citizens with low digital literacy, and youth highly exposed to viral content.
The Risk Management Mindset
Deepfakes are not a matter of if but when. AI advances make them more realistic, easier to produce, and accessible to almost anyone. A strong risk management approach must anticipate attacks, monitor early signals, and prepare rapid responses. This means a national rapid-response task force to verify viral content, partnerships with fact-checkers for coordinated rebuttals, automatic warning labels on suspicious videos, and regular public drills. These measures should be integrated into national cybersecurity exercises, while capacity building extends beyond Jakarta to empower local governments and communities. If successful, Indonesia could position itself as a Global South role model in balancing technology, regulation, and social collaboration.
Deepfakes are not simply about technology—they expose the fragility of democracy in the post-truth era. The Sri Mulyani case showed how quickly trust and order can unravel. For Indonesia and the Global South, the call is urgent: accelerate regulation, empower platforms and leaders, and invest in creative education. Waiting for the next crisis is no longer an option; the time to act is now.
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