Indonesian authorities have said that a minister’s video promising Ramadan cash aid is fake. Authorities indicate that the video was altered by AI.
Indonesian authorities warn against Ramadan cash aid video
The Indonesian government has alerted the public that a video of a minister promising Ramadan cash aid is fake. Artificial Intelligence (AI) apparently altered the video.
In the AI-generated video, the country’s finance minister was supposedly giving away a holiday allowance from recovered graft funds. The video misled many social media users.
The video was shared on Facebook on February 23, 2026. The finance minister, Purbaya Sadewa, appeared to promise allowances to people who have not received any other forms of social assistance.
“I have prepared 10 trillion rupiahs (US$590 million) to be disbursed, which are funds confiscated from those convicted of corruption. This is the people’s money and will return to the people. Please immediately share this so more Indonesian people can receive assistance today,” the minister appeared to say in Indonesian.
Additionally, the text in the video also asked viewers to comment if they had not gotten the allowance. The video’s caption also contained a link that leads to a WhatsApp chat.
However, the video creators used old footage of the minister speaking to produce the fake video. In the original footage, he was talking about the performance of a state-owned bank.
The government clarified that the video was altered with AI and that it did not announce the aid. Some news channels had already broadcast reports on the ‘false aid.’
Deni Surjantoro, the ministry’s spokesperson, said on March 5, 2026, that the circulating video was edited with AI.
“Until now there has never been any government policy, including from the Ministry of Finance, that promises the distribution of holiday allowances (THR) to the public, funded by money confiscated from corrupt officials,” he said.
Indonesia launched a stimulus package ahead of Ramadan
The Indonesian government announced a stimulus package ahead of Ramadan. It allocated more than 12 trillion rupiah ($760 million) towards transport discounts and food aid for Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
The transportation fare discount covers various modes of transport. Trains received a 30% discount from March 14 to 29. Sea and air transport, alongside ferries, also got discounts.
Moreover, the government also announced the distribution of food aid that includes 10 kg of rice and 2 litres of cooking oil per month, shared simultaneously for two months.