Account of satirical presidential ticket Nurhadi-Aldo temporarily disappears from Instagram, admins fear ‘conspiracy’

Nurhadi-Aldo, a satirical political meme that has become hugely popular in Indonesia recently, may have made enemies on the very social media platform that propelled the fictional presidential and VP candidate pair to stardom.

On Monday morning, Nurhadi-Aldo’s Instagram account was reportedly temporarily taken down, and its admins are suspecting conspiracy against the satirical account.

The account of Nurhadi-Aldo — abbreviated as “Dildo” — is known for posting sexual innuendo-filled campaign materials while not shying away from talking about serious issues (or those considered taboo in Indonesia) and promoting some leftist politics.

Edwin, the only one of Dildo’s admins who has made himself known publicly, said their Instagram account disappeared after they told their followers in to send them human rights, agrarian and environmental issues or causes of their choice that Nurhadi-Aldo would then promote free of charge.

Kami segenap timses dan relawan Dildo open endorse untuk permasalahan sosial seperti isu kemanusiaan, HAM, lingkungan, Agraria dll. langsung kirim kan ke email kami, tarif endorse hanya sebatas doa bagi timses dan relawan.#McQueenYaQueen pic.twitter.com/WguEHEG8Ls

— Republik Internet (@NKR_Internet) January 14, 2019

“We thought there were some people who wanted to cover up these issues, so they made our account disappear,” Edwin said Monday, as quoted by Kumparan. 

Hours after issuing an official statement, Nurhadi-Aldo’s account on Instagram was recovered. The official reason for its temporary closure is not known, though the way the account was blocked suggests that it was reported to Instagram for a violation of community guidelines.

Nurhadi and Aldo are actual people who have knowingly let themselves become the subjects of this hugely popular fictional campaign. The former is a masseuse hailing from Kendal, Central Java, while the latter is a famous figure within Indonesia’s shitposting community. Their satirical presidential campaign constantly criticizes Indonesian politics and society in general through jokes and absurd program proposals. Experts say their popularity is due in large part to Indonesians who are fed up with the increasing polarization of society caused by the current political climate. 

The admins of Nurhadi-Aldo said they’re not behind either of the real candidate pairs — President Joko Widodo and Ma’ruf Amin versus Prabowo Subianto and Sandiaga Uno — running for this year’s presidential elections, despite accusations otherwise from some in the public.