There certainly hasn’t been any shortage of fake news and hoaxes being spread through various channels in Indonesia, and this has especially true during the campaign season for the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election.
The incumbent candidate pair of Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat have become the latest subject of scandalous (but totally fake) rumors after media reports came out yesterday that Djarot had gone to a hospital, though without any initial explanation as to why.
Some time later, a chain message purporting to explain his hospital visit was widely shared on social media and via chatting apps – it was even picked up by several media organizations. This is the translated version:
BreakingNEWS: Ahok and Djarot were involved in a argument this morning about election campaign funds. Ahok got angry because Djarot, who represents PDI-P, continued to ask for money for door-to-door campaigning, even though Ahok was aware that PDI-P did not do that. According to sources, Ahok threw a glass and a tissue holder at Djarot and even landed a punch, luckily they were separated by their personal bodyguards.
When asked for confirmation, Djarot said that he simply went to the hospital to see his dentist.
“I went to Mayapada Hospital, to their dentist clinic. My dentist is in Mayapada,” Djarot told reporters yesterday evening, as quoted by Merdeka.
Ahok chose to see the humor in the fake story.
“They are lacking gossip material. I’d have to have high kung fu skills to be able to throw [a box of] tissues and hit [Djarot’s] teeth. Can you imagine? The fact is I hadn’t even seen [Djarot] for a few days,” Ahok said with a laugh.
So it seems that all is well between Ahok and Djarot. Unless, of course, they’re just such great actors that they can convince people that everything is fine between them when they’re actually at one another’s throats.
Certainly the pair has a reason to be happy at the moment, with recent polls showing that they have bounced back to a commanding lead in the election.
