Indonesia riots: man arrested for hoax saying ‘police from China’ shot protesters
- As the post-election unrest escalated, messages started circulating on social media that rioters killed in the melee were shot by “police from China”, prompting the government to block WhatsApp to curb misinformation
- Police spokesman said the man “deliberately spread information to create hatred against individuals, groups, based on their ethnicity”
The man, a trader from Bekasi in West Java, known as SDA, “deliberately spread information to create hatred against individuals, groups, based on their ethnicity, race and religion … resulting in chaos in society,” Indonesian police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told a press conference.
“He spread hoax via news and photos with the narrative that the police force involved police from a [foreign] country to handle demonstrations [in Indonesia],” said Prasetyo.
The protesters had rallied outside the Elections Supervisory Agency building in central Jakarta and five other locations in the capital on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, they continued clashing with police, with the force using rubber bullets and tear gas on them. The crowds only began dispersing in the early hours of Thursday and some measure of calm returned to the capital.
Shortly after the riots began on Tuesday, messages started circulating on social media that rioters killed in the melee were shot by “police from China”.
One of the messages circulated on WhatsApp said: “Information from the location outside the Election Supervisory Agency. Our brother Eri has fallen …. B****** police from China who involved themselves in our country. Who let them into Indonesia?”