Mirroring events during the 2014 presidential election, the spread of an unverified political tabloid has caused controversy in the lead up to the 2019 presidential election in April. But this time, unlike five years ago, it seems like the tabloid was designed to benefit President Joko Widodo’s campaign instead of that of his challenger, Prabowo Subianto.
The Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) and the Press Council are investigating the spread of a tabloid named Indonesia Barokah (“Blessed Indonesia”), which reportedly contains news and political op-eds written from a leftist standpoint. Photos of its first edition show the tabloid featuring an op-ed suggesting that the 212 Islamist movement (which led to the downfall of former Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama) was politicized by Jokowi’s rivals.
Thousands of copies of the tabloid have reportedly been spread to mosques and Islamic schools throughout Java. At least hundreds more are being held up in post offices while Bawaslu and the Press Council are still investigating the tabloid.
“Because the question is whether or not this is a product of journalism, we are still coordinating with the Press Council,” Bawaslu Commissioner Mochammad Afifuddin said in Jakarta, as quoted by Kompas.
Media investigations into the tabloid found that the names of its editors and its office address were faked.
President Jokowi and Prabowo’s campaigns, understandably, have differing opinions on Indonesia Barokah.
“We are leaving it to law enforcement, because [the tabloid] is a form of black campaign, which [the candidates] all agreed not to take part in,” Prabowo’s running mate Sandiaga Uno said yesterday.
Meanwhile, Jokowi’s campaign said their rivals jumped the gun in calling it black campaign against them, as the 16-page tabloid only contained two articles about Prabowo.
“Have they even read Indonesia Barokah? I have read it thoroughly. I don’t think there’s anything to be worried about,” Jokowi’s campaign spokesperson Ace Hasan Syadzily said.
In 2014, an unlicensed tabloid named Obor Rakyat (translates to “The People’s Torch”) was spread to 28,000 Islamic schools and 724,000 mosques in Indonesia. Obor Rakyat is widely credited as the originator of numerous hoaxes against Jokowi that are popular among his detractors even to this day, including conspiracy theories that he’s supposedly a secret agent for China and a communist. Its founders/editors were sentenced to eight months in prison in 2017 for defamation against Jokowi.
