PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2019-04-17 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • No, this photo does not show a recent ‘exorcism’ for Indonesian President Joko Widodo (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • Multiple Facebook posts share images that they claim show a recent exorcism for Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The claim is false; the photos were taken in 2014 and show Widodo in a prayer session at an Islamic boarding school in West Java, which he visited on the campaign trail. One of the misleading posts here contains a photo showing a man wearing white and an Islamic skullcap touching Widodo’s head as men and boys, also wearing skullcaps, pray in the background. The post, dated April 12, 2019, has a long Indonesian-language caption which refers to Widodo by his nickname Jokowi. It says in part: Valid information two days ago Jokowi was exorcised + increased his black magic power, since January 2019 Jokowi has often experienced being possessed, screaming a lot, and even talking by himself. According to the shaman who treats him: it happens because Jokowi has an ambition to become a leader for life using a wrong way, using a black magic and misguided mantra. Indonesia holds elections April 17, 2019. Here is an AFP story about the polls. Below is a screenshot of the misleading Facebook post: Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post This Facebook post, also published April 12, 2019, contains four photographs. One is a similar image of Widodo with text across the bottom saying in Indonesian: exorcism. In the image, Widodo’s eyes are closed and people can be seen praying in the background. The other three images show three different men in Islamic clothes touching the chests of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Sandiaga Uno. The text on the bottom of each of the three images says: Dzikir, a reference to an Arabic word which means remembering God. Below is a screenshot of the Facebook post: Screenshot of a different Facebook post showing the same photo Here is Yudhoyono’s Twitter account. And here is the Indonesian General Election website that lists the presidential candidates in the April 17 election, in which Subianto, pairing with Uno, is running against Widodo. Another Facebook post here shares the same photo of Widodo with a caption saying: Make your own judgement.. A touch in the chest by an Islamic scholar is following an example by the Prophet. A touch in the head means exorcism. This Facebook post has been shared more than 5,000 times since it was posted April 12, 2019. A reverse image search on Yandex found that the photos of Widodo actually show an Islamic prayer session at a school in 2014. The images used in the misleading posts are the same as in this photo essay published July 4, 2014, by Indonesian news outlet Merdeka. The photo essay is subtitled: After campaigning at the Kerkhof field, Jokowi pays a visit to Jawawiyah Samarangan Islamic boarding school in Garut. The caption on the original photo says: A Muslim cleric from Jawiyah Samarangan Islamic boarding school touches the head of presidential candidate Jokowi as he is prayed for. Below is a side-by-side comparison of the photo in the misleading Facebook posts (L) and one published on Merdeka’s website (R): An image comparing a photo of Jokowi in the misleading Facebook post (L) and the same photo published by Merdeka (R) Garut is a district in West Java province. Here is a Sindo News report, dated July 3, 2014, about Jokowi’s campaign event at the Kerkhof field. (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url