Indonesian Government Denies Censoring Wildfire Posts
As thick smog from ongoing forest fires choked the Indonesian archipelago and pushed air pollution indexes to 1,200—four times the hazardous threshold of 300—civil society groups, celebrities, and public officials reported that their social media posts and accounts were restricted or removed. The Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs denied any involvement in the content takedowns, maintaining that it issued no directives to limit information regarding the environmental crisis, Mongabay reported.
The controversy stems from months-long wildfires that have spread hazardous haze to neighboring countries. As public frustration mounted, social media users across Instagram, Threads, and TikTok reported shadowbans, content blurring, and account restrictions after publishing critiques of the government’s response or sharing data on the disaster.
NGOs and Public Officials Face Content Restrictions
On Oct. 15, the Nalar Rawat Institute published a post on TikTok featuring data on the air pollution index in Central Kalimantan. The post garnered 500,000 views before TikTok removed it for violating community guidelines, according to Fatus Sahara, the NGO’s communications officer.
Animal welfare organizations experienced similar moderation. International Animal Rescue Indonesia (YIARI) stated that an Instagram carousel post from Sept. 25 detailing the impact of the fires on slow lorises was labeled as sensitive content, blurred, and had its audio muted two weeks after publication. Cahya Riza, YIARI’s digital education coordinator, noted that the organization received no detailed explanation from Meta regarding the restriction, despite the post utilizing an educational narrative.
Public officials faced similar hurdles. Siak district chief Afni Zulkifli uploaded a video on Oct. 9 showing local officials and residents planting tree seedlings on burned peatland in Riau. On Oct. 20, TikTok removed the video after it reached 5 million views, citing community guideline violations. The post was later reinstated.
Ministry Denies Directives Amid Rising Complaints
Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid rejected the accusations during an Oct. 21 statement, asserting that there had been no content takedowns or requests from the ministry to limit wildfire information. Meutya reiterated that the government remains open to factual and credible reporting on the disaster and is pushing digital platforms for transparency and accountability in algorithm regulation.
Nenden of SAFEnet argued that even if the government did not issue direct removal orders, existing regulations may pressure social media companies into overzealous content moderation. Both Meta and ByteDance did not respond to requests for comment prior to publication.
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