Fact Check: Did Pro-TNI Accounts Coordinate Support for Military Court in Andrie Yunus Case?

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - On the social media platform X, the account @wartawanmedia1 praised the Jakarta Military Court II-08 on Friday, June 12, 2026. Two days earlier, the court sentenced four members of Bais TNI—the Indonesian National Armed Forces Strategic Intelligence Agency—to 1.5 to 2 years in prison for attacking Andrie Yunus, deputy coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS).Perpetrators- DEFENDANT 1Second Sergeant Edi SudarkoSentence: 3 years in prison + dismissal from military serviceRole: Gave Budhi Hariyanto a ride to look for Andrie at the KontraS office and followed him all the way to Jalan Talang. Edi splashed a chemical substance directly onto the victim’s body from the front, then fled toward Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM).- DEFENDANT 2First Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto WidhiSentence: 2 years and 6 months in prison + dismissal from military serviceRole: Prepared used battery acid and rust-removing solution at the Denma BAIS TNI workshop and poured them into a tumbler. Together with Edi Sudarko, he searched for the victim at the KontraS office and followed him to the scene of the incident.- DEFENDANT 3Captain Nandala Dwi PrasetyaSentence: 2 years in prisonRole: Assigned search duties for the victim. Rided with Sami Lakka to search for the victim at the YLBHI office. Recognized the victim as he was leaving on a yellow motorcycle, then followed him to the scene of the incident.- DEFENDANT-4First Lieutenant Sami LakkaSentence: 1 year and 6 months in prisonRole: Together with Nandala Dwi Prasetya, he went to the YLBHI office to look for the victim, waited and monitored the location, and then fled with Nandala toward Jalan Pramuka, heading for the BAIS TNI barracks.(From left to right) First Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi, First Lieutenant Sami Lakka, Second Sergeant Edi Sudarko, and Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetya at Military Court II-08, Jakarta, May 13, 2026. Tempo/Imam Sukamto.The account noted that the sentences handed down to the soldiers were harsher than those given to the police officers who doused former Corruption Eradication Commission investigator Novel Baswedan with acid. “Military courts are not a place of impunity,” the account wrote on Friday, June 12, 2026—two days after the verdict was handed down.Within minutes, the post—whether it was made by a real journalist or not—was shared 112 times. It was also flooded with 926 comments supporting the military court.The day before, the Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD) and Amnesty International Indonesia criticized the lenient sentence of 1.5 to 2 years. According to TAUD and Amnesty, the sentence was unfair to Andrie, who will be affected for the rest of his life. Andrie suffered permanent damage to his right eye after being attacked with acid.Support for the TNI and the Military Court was voiced by at least a thousand other anonymous accounts. They posted 10,000 pieces of pro-TNI content that flooded X and TikTok following the attack on Andrie Yunus on March 12, 2026. The posts described the TNI and the Military Court as acting swiftly, professionally, and transparently.An investigation by Tempo's Fact-Checking team revealed that nearly 50 percent of the accounts involved were created between 2025 and 2026. In fact, 72 of these accounts were created as recently as March 2026—just a few days before the operation began. Generally, these accounts had few followers and simultaneously used identical hashtags. They also flooded comment sections, presumably to create the impression of public support.How Tempo and the Collaboration Team Uncovered TNI’s Support NetworkData Collection from X and TikTokThe team collected data from X and TikTok during the period of March 1–May 27, 2026, using the advanced social media analytics platform “Brandwatch.” The team used keywords and hashtags such as “TNI gercep (rapid response),” “TNI profesional,” and “update Andrie Yunus.” The team also collected data on the accounts involved, such as creation date, number of posts, types of hashtags, posting times, accounts that replied, number of comments, and the intervals between posts.Data Verification and AnalysisThe extracted data was then manually cleaned by Tempo's fact-checking team by identifying irrelevant text. Tempo then analyzed it using the ABCDE framework and the CIB tree.The ABCDE framework consists of five components for analyzing influence operations or disinformation at the operational level: actor, behavior, content, degree, and effect.Meanwhile, the CIB tree is a method for analyzing the coordination among accounts involved in influence operations. Tempo's Fact-Checking Team uses Antrophic’s artificial intelligence tool, Claude AI, to help analyze data based on these two frameworks.Tempo's Fact-Checking Team also found evidence of coordinated inauthentic behavior among these thousands of accounts. Coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB) is a tactic used in influence operations that involves a number of social media accounts deliberately collaborating to manipulate public opinion. These operations typically involve networks of organic, fake, and duplicate accounts.What is Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior?Coordinated inauthentic behavior is a tactic used in influence operations that involves a network of social media accounts—including genuine, fake, and duplicate accounts—working in a coordinated manner to mislead the public about who they are and what they are doing.FOUR STAGES OF A CIB OPERATION1. Building InfrastructureThe actors involved in the operation create fake websites, fictional characters, and networks of automated bots. They may use stolen identities or photos created using photo manipulation techniques.2. Spreading NarrativesThis network systematically injects misleading, divisive, or highly biased narratives into the timelines of its targeted audiences—bypassing conventional media filters such as Tempo.3. Algorithm ManipulationThese actors make content appear more prominent to the algorithm through coordinated mass actions involving likes, shares, and trending hashtags. The goal is to trick the algorithm into distributing the message to a wider and more authentic audience.4. Covering Their TracksThe operation is spread across multiple platforms (e.g., Telegram, X, TikTok) and mirrored on small, local community blogs to make it difficult to track and take action against.Coordinated Patterns of Pro-TNI Networks on X and TikTokA week after Andrie Yunus was doused with acid, a social media campaign began. Initially, on Monday, March 16, 2026, a small group of accounts—such as @wartawanmedia1 and @kawanmiliterofficial—claimed that reports of TNI members’ involvement were merely hoaxes. The administrators of those two accounts did not respond to interview requests sent by Tempo's Fact-Checking Team.A different narrative emerged after the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) Military Police Headquarters held a press conference on the morning of Wednesday, March 18, 2026. At that time, the Indonesian Military Police Center (Puspom TNI) announced the detention of four Bais personnel suspected of attacking Andrie Yunus.A few hours after the press conference, there were more than 600 tweets on the X platform with a uniform message: “The TNI acted swiftly to arrest the perpetrators.” These tweets were posted by 586 active accounts between 6:25 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. A total of 57 tweets from different accounts appeared simultaneously within the first minute.The wave of tweets began when “Kawan Militer Official” uploaded a clip from a Kompas TV press conference to TikTok, Youtube, Instagram, and X. The TikTok video was then reposted more than 30 times on the X platform by the account @berburudsknan. The post was reposted by 388 other accounts on X with smaller followings.In the following days, the operation temporarily subsided. However, in April 2026, there was a significant surge. A total of 304 accounts posted more than 8,000 tweets between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Nearly half of them once again promoted the narrative that the TNI was transparent, professional, and accountable in handling the Andrie Yunus case. This surge was accompanied by the same two hashtags: #TNIProfesional and #TNITransparan.A particularly high volume of posts appeared on April 1, 5, and 17, 2026, coinciding with three events that took place over those three days. On April 1, the Head of Public Relations for the Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Police announced the handover of the investigation results and evidence to the Puspom TNI.Four days later, Andrie Yunus wrote two open letters to the Constitutional Court regarding the judicial review of the TNI Law filed by a civil society group. Most recently, on April 17, 2026, Andrie wrote an open letter to President Prabowo Subianto. In it, he called for the formation of an independent team and for the perpetrators to be tried in civil court.In another development, more than 1,500 posts on X shared a nearly two-minute video by forensic psychology expert Reza Indragiri from the TikTok account @barakstory. In the video, Reza claimed that the acid attack on Andrie was motivated by personal reasons, not part of intelligence operations. Tempo has requested a response from @barakstory on TikTok, but the account has been set to private.TimelineCoordinated Campaign in Andrie Yunus CaseMarch 12, 2026Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for the Missing and Victims of Violence (KontraS), was attacked with acid.March 18, 2026The campaign began. A total of 57 accounts simultaneously posted more than 600 tweets over a 35-minute period from 6:25 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. WIB (Western Indonesian Time). The content consisted of a video of Major General Yusri Nuryanto, Commander of the Military Police Center, announcing the arrest of four members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces’ Intelligence Agency (Bais TNI). The accounts involved used the same keyword: “TNI gercep” (rapid response).March 25–30, 2026Use of hashtags involving institutions related to the investigation of the Andrie Yunus case. #TNIResponsCepat, #TNIProfesional.April 1, 2026The announcement regarding the attack on Andrie was handed over to the TNI Military Police (Puspom TNI). There were two waves of posts: from 10:06 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. (150 posts) and from 2:35 p.m. to 2:49 p.m. (128 posts). Five accounts, which had been created early that morning, were actively posting. This campaign promoted the hashtags #AndrieYunus, #TNIProfesional, and #TNITransparan, with a total of 278 tweets.. April 5, 2026Andrie Yunus wrote an open letter to the Constitutional Court and expressed a motion of no confidence in the military judiciary. Pro-TNI figures responded with 818 tweets using the hashtags #TNIProfesional, #TNITransparan, #TNIResponsCepat, and #TNIGerakCepat.April 17, 2026Andrie sent an open letter to President Prabowo Subianto, asking that the case be brought before a civil court. The campaign gained momentum again with 812 tweets using the hashtags #UpdateAndrieYunus, #TNI, #PerkembanganAndrieYunus, #TNITransparan, and #TNIProfesional.May 2026The pro-TNI narrative continued to be promoted with 819 tweets from 201 accounts throughout the month. The narrative shifted from “rapid response” to “legitimizing the military trial process.” New hashtags emerged: #MilitaryCourt and #TrustTNI, accompanied by hashtags for figures #SjafriesjamSoeddin (Minister of Defense) and #YusrilIhza (Coordinating Minister for Law).In May 2026, social media activity leveled off. There were 819 posts from 201 accounts distributed more evenly throughout the day, with the heaviest activity occurring between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. WIB. In addition to using existing hashtags, nearly 50 percent of the posts featured #pengadilanmiliter, indicating that the narrative was beginning to shift from the TNI’s rapid response to the trial process.These posts included statements and hashtags from Defense Minister #sjafriesjamsoeddin, Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections #yusrilihza, and former Head of the TNI’s BAIS #solemanponto. Analysis by Tempo's Fact-Checking team showed that the hashtags and narratives used constantly evolved as the case progressed.On May 8, 2026, for example, the account Alfaro734877 reposted a statement by Soleman Ponto that had been published by Tribun News the previous day. Soleman stated that Andrie Yunus’s case was appropriately tried by a military court to prevent impunity.Meanwhile, the Fahlan FN account on X shared Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin’s claim that a military court could impose a harsher sentence. The post amplified Sjafrie’s statement, which had been published by Tempo on May 19, 2026.A screenshot of a post by a pro-TNI network on X sharing statements by Sjafrie Sjamsoedin, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, and Soleman B. Ponto aimed at establishing the legitimacy of military courts in handling the case of the acid attack on Andrie Yunus. [Source: X]Meanwhile, on TikTok, the volume of posts from March to May 2026 totaled 166 pieces of content generated by 126 accounts. Although the volume of content was smaller, pro-TNI posts on TikTok garnered a larger audience, with nearly 800,000 views. These posts were not distributed evenly and only saw a surge on March 20, April 3 and 16, and May 1 and 5, 2026.Interconnections Among the ActorsTempo's Fact-Checking Team investigated the connections between the accounts involved in this organized operation. The “Kawan Militer Official” account, for example, frequently shares information about TNI activities across all of its social media platforms.The account referred to the protests titled “Indonesia Gelap” (Dark Indonesia) in February and March 2025 as provocations. It also labeled the film Pesta Babi (Pig Feast) a hoax and referred to civil society groups and Andrie Yunus as antek asing (foreign stooge).Kawan Militer Official has previously collaborated with Ulta Levenia, a senior expert at the Office of the Presidential Staff, on Instagram. They posted a video clip of political analyst Selamat Ginting’s remarks on TVOne’s Catatan Demokrasi program. Selamat stated that military courts are not the place to protect soldiers who are guilty.Tempo has requested a response from Ulta via text message to the number listed on the Academia UI website, email, and Instagram. However, as of Thursday, July 2, 2026, she has not responded.The vast majority of all tweets from the pro-TNI operation received virtually no response from X users. During those three months—from March through May 2026—pro-TNI accounts garnered only about 362 replies from 63 accounts with relatively few following, less than 20 followers.However, upon further investigation, it became clear that this interaction was also artificial. More than half of the replies were self-replies. The accounts that replied used hashtags that were exactly the same, such as #tniprofesional, #tnitransparan, #tni, and #perkembanganandrieyunus. The rest simply responded to posts by pro-TNI accounts within the same network.Tempo's Fact-Checking Team also found a number of accounts operating on both platforms simultaneously. Out of 802 unique accounts on X and 126 unique accounts on TikTok involved in the operation, four accounts were found with exactly the same names on both platforms: thiaazahwa, andybalala19, bulan_alifah, and amellmtma.In addition, there were 14 pairs of accounts with very similar names and only slight differences. For example, the accounts @redia.nafadan on TikTok and @redianafadan on X. There are also @yasmin.humairah92 and @yasminhumairah9, as well as lia.marliani342 and Lia_Marliani53. Most of these duplicate accounts are more active on X, posting between 45 and 110 times on that platform.Ika Karlina Idris, Co-Director of the Data & Democracy Research Hub, said her analysis also revealed a coordinated, inauthentic campaign of pro-TNI posts. This was indicated by the accounts being created around the same time, as well as the use of identical post text and hashtags within a short timeframe.Additionally, cross-platform coordination on X and TikTok was observed, promoting a narrative designed to bolster the positive image of the TNI and President Prabowo’s administration in the Andrie Yunus case.This operation, Ika said, is suspected of aiming to create the illusion of widespread public support—making it seem as though the public supports bringing the Andrie Yunus case before a military court. “In reality, this is clearly artificial. These accounts were deliberately set up to manipulate public perception,” Ika told Tempo via WhatsApp on Wednesday, July 1, 2026.Not the First Pro-TNI OperationThis operation to influence public opinion and attack Andrie Yunus in the digital sphere is not the first of its kind. During the backlash against the revision of the TNI Law last year, Tempo identified 9,578 positive posts on X, 50 pieces of content on TikTok, and 117 pieces of content on Facebook and Instagram between May 1, 2025, and July 31, 2025.All of these posts promoted the narrative that the revision of the TNI Law would not revive the military’s dual function and would instead strengthen the TNI’s professionalism. Other narratives also criticized the second phase of the “Indonesia Gelap” movement—initiated by civil society—which urged the House of Representatives and the government to halt discussions on the revision of the TNI Law.Among the network of active anonymous accounts, Tempo identified 17 accounts on TikTok and 11 accounts on Facebook and Instagram as belonging to the TNI. These TNI accounts shared the same videos and narratives on March 17–19, 2025. The content labeled activists protesting at the Fairmont Hotel—the venue for the revision discussions—as foreign stooges. Screenshots of Kodim and Koramil accounts that shared a video labeling Andrie Yunus, an activist opposing the revision of the TNI Law, as a “foreign stooge” on March 17–19, 2025.The content spread after Andrie Yunus and activists from the Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform broke into a closed-door meeting of the House of Representatives' working committee discussing the revision of the TNI Law at the Fairmont Hotel, Jakarta, on March 15, 2025.A Campaign to Legitimize Military CourtsJane Rosalina Rumpia, head of KontraS’s Impunity Monitoring Division, believes that these positive narratives are being disseminated to create the impression that military courts are capable of carrying out their law enforcement functions fairly and accurately. This operation may also prevent critical content from appearing on social media.“Indirectly, the operation aims to influence the direction of public discourse while exerting political pressure,” Jane told Tempo via WhatsApp message on Thursday, June 25, 2026.Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid stated that the narratives intended to legitimize military courts constitute a form of disinformation. This is because these narratives are disseminated to undermine the civilian judiciary, which should be the one to try the military personnel involved in the acid attack against Andrie Yunus.Usman explained that Article 27 of the 1945 Constitution guarantees the principle of equality for all citizens before the law. He also referred to Article 3, Paragraph 4 of People’s Consultative Assembly Decree No. VII/MPR/2000, which stipulates that Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) personnel who violate general criminal law must be tried in civilian courts.“Andrie Yunus will never receive justice in a military court,” Usman told Tempo by phone on Monday, June 15, 2026.Narratives such as “the TNI acted swiftly,” according to Usman, are also inaccurate. In fact, the police were the first to launch an investigation and hold a press conference on March 16, 2926. Two days later, on March 18, 2026, the police had also released images of the suspects based on surveillance camera (CCTV) footage.Only after that did the TNI hold a press conference claiming to have detained four suspects. “So, where was the ‘swift action’? They (the TNI) were actually afraid of losing face and only then began taking action,” said a lecturer at the Jentera Indonesian School of Law.According to Usman, this disinformation campaign cannot be separated from previous narratives pushed by TNI accounts to label Andrie Yunus as a foreign stooge. Operations like this aim to sow discord among the public and divert attention from the real issue.TNI's ResponseHead of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) Public Information Center, Brigadier General Muhammad Nas, said that the positive narratives appearing on social media are purely the public’s own perceptions of the TNI. The TNI Headquarters, he said, has never issued instructions or carried out operations to spread positive narratives regarding military courts.“It’s not like we’d give instructions to civilians—that’s impossible. That comes purely from them,” he said when contacted by Tempo by phone on Thursday, June 25, 2026.According to Muhammad Nas, a number of accounts belonging to military commands (Kodam) and district military commands (Kodim) that spread narratives labeling Andrie Yunus as a foreign stooge in 2025 are not affiliated with the TNI as an institution. This is because official TNI statements are only disseminated through official channels belonging to the TNI Public Information Center or the TNI Public Information Service.He stated that the TNI has no interest in further investigating the network of these accounts. “Nowadays, it’s too easy for people to create accounts, secondary accounts, and so on. If we were to investigate, it would be a waste of energy—or perhaps they’re just trying to stir up trouble on purpose,” he said.Rosy Dewi Arianti and Ahmad Suudi contributed to this report.This article is part of a collaborative program between the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet), Tempo, and the Monash Data & Democracy Research Hub.**Do you have information or claims that you want to have fact-checked? Contact our ChatBot. You can also send criticism, objections, or feedback for this Fact-Checking article via email to cekfakta@tempo.co.id.