Old video from Indonesian presidential campaign misrepresented as recent event
A two-year-old video showing a street packed with supporters of Indonesia’s then-presidential candidate Anies Baswedan has resurfaced in posts that misleadingly presented it as a recently filmed clip that depicts the politician’s enduring popularity. The footage was previously shared in February 2024 when the former Jakarta governor was campaigning to become president — a contest he lost to Prabowo Subianto.
The video showing a huge crowd holding up flags and banners was shared on TikTok on February 7, 2026.
“Mr Anies, look at your supporters in Medan,” reads part of the video’s superimposed Indonesian-language text. Medan is the capital of Indonesia’s North Sumatra province.
“Even before becoming president, the people are defending you. Anies is the best choice for smart people… 2/2/2026,” the text continues. “Those supported by the people are in a different league from those backed by fraudsters, flatterers and liars. Mr Anies is always loved.”
Screenshot of the misleading post captured on February 10, 2026, with an orange X added by AFP
The footage was also shared elsewhere on TikTok.
A comment on one of the posts reads: “Medan is smart, bro. That’s why they chose Mr Anies.”
“People can’t wait to replace and clean out Jokowi’s puppets who are still entrenched in the Indonesian cabinet,” reads another, using former president Joko Widodo’s nickname. The former president’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka ran alongside Prabowo and is now the country’s vice president.
Prabowo’s administration has come in for criticism in recent months, with The Jakarta Post reporting that his government has been under fire over reduced regional budgets and faced a backlash over Indonesia’s participation in the US-led Board of peace (archived link).
The government was also previously criticised for resisting pressure to declare a national disaster over devastating flooding and landslides on Sumatra in December 2025 that killed around 1,200 people and displaced more than 240,000 (archived link).
But the video circulating on social media does not show Anies visiting Medan in February 2026, as the posts suggest.
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the misleadingly shared clip led to the same footage shared on TikTok on February 2, 2024 (archived link).
The video was shared with the hashtags “presiden2024” and “01”, Anies’ ballot number during the 2024 presidential race.
Screenshot comparison of the misleadingly shared video (L) and the February 2024 TikTok video
The campaign event was covered by local media, including Tribun Sumsel Barat in a video report shared on YouTube on the same day (archived link).
The crowds can also be seen in video and photo uploaded to Google Maps in February 2024 (archived here and here).
Screenshot comparison of the rally as seen in the misleadingly shared video (L) and the Google Maps clip
AFP has previously debunked other misinformation related to Anies.
