Ex-Indonesia president's diploma controversy sparks spread of AI image

"Finally, Jokowi is showing his original diploma," reads text overlaid on an image shared on Facebook on September 29, 2026, referring to Indonesia's seventh president by his popular nickname.

The image shows Jokowi holding a document that appears to be a diploma from Gadjah Mada University (archived link).

The Southeast Asian archipelago's former leader is facing a lawsuit alleging he used a fake diploma when he registered for his presidential runs in 2014 and 2019 -- allegations he denies (archived here and here).

In April 2025, he showed his diploma to journalists but prohibited them from recording it (archived link).

Gadjah Mada University earlier said Jokowi's diploma is authentic -- while also publishing photos of his graduation and undergraduate thesis (archived link).

The image of Jokowi apparently showing his diploma to the public also appeared on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, but it is actually synthetic.

A reverse image search on Google led to a corresponding video shared September 27, 2026 on the official Instagram account of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) led by one of his children (archived link).

Although the background is different in the circulating image, several details match, including Jokowi's party badge, his headdress, the microphone and the Indonesian flag to his right.

He was also not holding a diploma in the original video.

"Jokowi was present at the PSI's regional coordination meeting in Bandung and showed his membership card in front of all party members," part of the Indonesian-language caption reads.

In the video, Jokowi says he has been a PSI member since 2025, before standing up and showing his membership card.

"Many people do not believe [that I'm a PSI member], so I will just show my membership card now," he says, reading his name and membership number printed on the card.

According to the post's description, the event was held in the city of Bandung on September 26.

Moreover, AFP ran the image using Google's SynthID Detector, which detected digital watermarks indicating it was created using the company's AI tools (archived here).

AFP reached out to PSI for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

AFP has debunked other misinformation targeting Indonesian officials.