Indonesia authorities restrict access to Facebook and WhatsApp to avoid spread of fake news as protesters riot against election results

Indonesia president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was elected to a second term in office this week, leading to a breakout of violent riots that resulted in the death of six people.
Authorities have restricted access to social media platforms within the country, and cited the circulation of hoaxes and fake news for riling up protesters.
While text and voice messages can be sent, photos and videos sent through WhatsApp and posted on Facebook are being blocked or slowed.
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Indonesian authorities said on Wednesday they were limiting access to social media platforms after six people were killed and about 200 injured in riots that followed the release of the country’s official election results.

The deaths came as supporters of the unsuccessful presidential candidate, Prabowo Subianto, clashed with security forces and set fire to a police dormitory and vehicles in Jakarta on Wednesday after the release of the results, which showed Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to have won a second term with more than 55 per cent of the vote.

Some of the protesters chanted anti-Chinese slogans such as "Usir Cina" (kick Chinese out) and "Awas Asing" (beware of foreigners) – apparently in reference to Jokowi, who has been criticised for favouring the Chinese Indonesian community and for his openness to investment from China.

A total of 69 people were arrested in the violent protests, which calmed down in the afternoon but resumed at around 7pm outside the Election Monitoring Body (Bawaslu) office in central Jakarta, where hundreds of mostly young, masked protesters hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at security personnel.

Rioters accused the police of defending the "unfair election", and said they would not back down.

"They are provoking us. The police tried to disperse us and prevent us from expressing our rights to protest," said Hasan Ali, a 29-year-old protester from Bandung.

"We will not back down. We will keep fighting. We only responded to police violence. They shot us with tear gas. It shows clearly that they are guarding this fraud and unfair election," he said.

A riot police officer, who declined to be named, said the demonstrators were "violating the regulations of mass gatherings".

"They should be dispersing themselves before 7pm, according to law," said the officer. "They provoked us by burning things on the roads, and trying to push to enter the Bawaslu office. We all are tired and they keep provoking us. None of us are using sharp bullets. It’s totally a big lie."

Some protestors said foreign media were intentionally making them look bad and siding with the incumbent by "hiding the truth".

Prabowo on Wednesday urged all sides to refrain from violence.

"I urge all sides, the people who are expressing their aspirations, the police, the military and all sides to refrain from physical abuse," the former general said at a media briefing.

"For those who still want to listen to me, avoid physical violence. Avoid verbal abuse as that can also provoke, what more in the holy month of Ramadan," he added.

Jokowi said there would be no tolerance for security disruptions.

"I will work together with anyone to advance this country, but I will not tolerate anyone who disrupts the security, democratic processes and unity of our beloved nation," said Jokowi, flanked by the military chief and other top leaders. "There is no choice, the military and police will take firm action in accordance with the law."

Meanwhile, fake news and hoaxes circulating on social media were cited by the authorities for the decision to limit access to the internet sites.

Rudiantara, the communications and information technology minister, said features of social media platforms would be restricted on a temporary basis to prevent the spread of hoaxes and inflammatory content.

He said messaging systems would still work for text and voice messages, but photos and videos would be blocked or slowed.

Messages and photos claiming that police officers have been sent from "communist China" to Indonesia to shoot at protesters have been circulating on social media.

Indonesian authorities have for the past few days announced that police and military securing the demonstrations would not be armed with guns and live bullets, but shields, tear gas and water cannons.

Indonesian police chief Tito Karnavian has said if any shootings broke out, it would not be from "the police or military".

Tito told a press conference that several protesters were arrested with envelopes totalling 6 million rupiah (US$410) and admitted to being "paid" to demonstrate.

He said the people who died in the rioting were hit by gunshots or blunt devices. Authorities are still investigating the death causes and are not ruling out the involvement of third parties acting as provocateurs.

"There are attempts to create martyrs, blaming security officials for building public anger," he said.

The riots began on Tuesday night when supporters of Prabowo tried to force their way into the downtown offices of the election supervisory agency, and continued through the night, National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said. More than 20 suspected provocateurs were arrested.

"As per 9 o’clock this morning, there were 200 people hurt being brought to five hospitals," Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan told broadcaster TVOne.

"The number of people dead was six," he said, adding that hospitals were conducting post mortems to determine the cause of death.

KompasTV showed protesters throwing rocks, a paramilitary police dormitory on fire, and hundreds of riot police in a central neighbourhood. Eleven cars and three houses were burned.

The rioting in Jakarta was planned and not spontaneous, police said.

Officers found an ambulance filled with stones and some of the dozens of people arrested had envelopes of money, said national police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal.

Many of those arrested had come from outside Jakarta, he said.

"We are seeking justice. We are protesting against an unfair election and massive fraud," said a protester who gave his name as Rusli, 25. "We are coming here on our own initiative despite police trying to prevent us from entering Jakarta. We are not going to stop until we get justice."

Another protester, high school student Rusdi Karim, 15, said: "I joined the protest to defend Islam, to defend our nation from being ruled by a Muslim who never shows his willingness to protect and to defend Islam."

One of the people killed had been shot through the chest, according to the hospital that treated him, raising speculation that a sniper may have been involved.

Indonesia’s Election Commission on Tuesday said Widodo had won a second term with 55.5 per cent of the vote in the April 17 election.

Former special forces general Prabowo has refused to accept the results and declared himself the winner. His campaign plans to challenge the election in the Constitutional Court. They allege massive fraud but have provided no credible evidence.

Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said police used tear gas and water cannon against protesters who threw rocks, Molotov cocktails and burning projectiles.

The government had deployed some 50,000 police and soldiers in Jakarta in anticipation of protests, said Yuwono. Many residents have left the city and parts of the downtown area are closed to traffic with the election supervisory agency and election commission barricaded with razor wire.

In the past week, authorities have arrested three pro-Subianto activists on suspicion of treason, said Prasetyo, including a retired general and former commander of Indonesia’s special forces. Police allege there was a plot to seize crucial government buildings in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, the hashtags #TangkapPrabowo or #ArrestPrabowo have been trending on Twitter.

Additional reporting by Associated Press and Reuters.

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