'Old wine in a new bottle': Activists raise alarm over deepfake videos

In the deepfake video, Koteka Wenda speaks out against a controversial documentary she supports. (ABC News: Tri Ardhya) Link copiedShareShare articleWhen Koteka Wenda stumbled across an AI-generated video of her circulating on social media, she was shocked. In the video, she was speaking out against a documentary that has become the subject of fierce debate. "The resemblance of my likeness is so sinister," she told the ABC. "I felt like me and my people were violated." Ms Wenda is the daughter of Benny Wenda, the leader of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua. The deepfake video shows Ms Wenda criticising the 90-minute film Pig Feast: Colonialism in Our Time, or Pesta Babi in Indonesian. The film by Dandhy Dwi Laksono and Cypri Jehan Paju Dale exposes mass deforestation and indigenous land exploitation in West Papua, allegedly facilitated by the Indonesian government through national strategic projects and big corporations. It also explores Indonesia's energy transition, how the regional sugar and biofuel industries are connected to Australia, and reveals how multinational corporations have benefited from several projects run in West Papua. The West Papua conflict is a long-running political and armed conflict in the western half of the island of New Guinea, a region administered by Indonesia. At its core, it is a dispute over whether West Papua should remain part of Indonesia or become an independent state. The Indonesian provinces of West Papua and Papua, often referred to collectively as West Papua, shares a border with Papua New Guinea. (ABC News: Jarrod Fankhauser) Ms Wenda and other West Papuan activists say the use of AI in targeted campaigns against them is the latest form of repression aimed at silencing those who speak out about West Papua. Last month, Amnesty International released a report documenting how disinformation campaigns were targeting and discrediting Indonesian government critics. Ms Wenda said that she feared AI-fabricated content could mislead her supporters, who may question "why this high-profile freedom fighter" switched sides. "If they don't know me, they'd probably think it was me," she said. "I'm concerned that my likeness is being used and actually is being believed to be the truth." Veronica Koman says she has been targeted on social media for speaking out about West Papua. (ABC RN: Alice Moldovan) Sydney-based West Papuan activist Veronica Koman experienced a similar attack last year. In one social media video, she appeared to praise the efforts of the Indonesian government in West Papua. Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital later classified the clip as a "hoax". Ms Koman said she believed that the original footage of herself was taken from her personal Facebook account. The footage was then altered to make it appear as if she said the Indonesian government cared more about West Papuans than in the past. It was not the first time Ms Koman had been targeted. "Before that, there was a deepfake video of me engaging in sexual acts," Ms Koman said. "It's very harmful, upsetting and really disgusting." While Ms Koman did not specifically accuse anyone of creating the fake videos, she suggested "state actors" were likely responsible. "Who would want to do that? Like, so much money invested and time wasted on such things." A key Indigenous leader in West Papua appeared in a documentary criticising an Indonesian government program, but then changed sides and disappeared. Her family suspects foul play. The recent Amnesty International report, Building up Imaginary Enemies, revealed how Indonesian authorities, including the military, used disinformation campaigns to target and discredit government critics. "This disinformation is a political weapon, deployed to consolidate the government's power when public criticism intensifies, while demonising and weakening those who dare to speak out," Amnesty International secretary general Agnes Callmard said in a statement. "Amnesty's research shows that in the 18 months since Prabowo took power, online disinformation has emerged as a key tactic to systematically discredit government critics, shut down public debate and justify repression, all while social media companies sit back and let it happen," she said. Ken Setiawan, an associate professor from the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne, said human rights and Papuan activists had long been repressed in Indonesia. Ken Setiawan says repression of human rights in Indonesia is not new. (Supplied: Ken Setiawan) "And we know that the security forces have been heavily involved in the repression of human right activists, particularly when it comes to West Papua," Dr Setiawan said. The ABC contacted the Indonesian government and military for comment. Activists say being targeted for speaking out about West Papua, including through disinformation campaigns, is "nothing new". "It's part of the long-standing Indonesian government's wa

'Old wine in a new bottle': Activists raise alarm over deepfake videos

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