On Friday, a post with two portrait photos, allegedly of Jokowi when he was young and a punk, went viral in Indonesia.
Belum lama ini saya berkesempatan untuk berjumpa ke kediaman seorang senior mantan dedengkot punk tanah air yang kini...
Posted by Agan Harahap on Wednesday, August 22, 2018
It's a Facebook post by Agan Harahap on Thursday (22/8). For several days it circulated in various social media, including, as some tweeters claimed, WhatsApp groups. It peaked on Friday night.
Agan posted two photos with long captions that narrated how he found those pictures when he was meeting a senior and Indonesian punk pioneer in Jakarta. They were conversing with each other and looking at an old photo album of the senior, who wasn't to be named. There he found those pictures he posted, and while Agan guessed it was the president, in the narration, the senior never mentioned it.
It is a quite convincing story, but with Agan's record as photo manipulation master, one has to be suspicious. Some in the comment section pointed out that the photos were manipulated, however the general consensus seemed to believe Agan's story.
Until on Saturday, a photo to counter Agan's story is uploaded on Jokowi's official social media accounts.
Sebuah foto buram bergambar anak muda dengan rambut ala punk beredar di media sosial. Entah siapa yang mulai, ada yang...
Posted by Presiden Joko Widodo on Friday, August 24, 2018
Jokowi said in the caption, "I make sure that that's not my photo. I wasn't that handsome in my youth. Hehehe."
He added further that when young, he preferred to go to the mountain, have an adventure in nature with friends. "We walked into the forest, slept in tents, armed with perfunctory things like instant noodles."
It's known that Jokowi's social media account are managed by the Presidential Digital Communication Team, and they are surely quick and perceptive in handling Jokowi's image in social media.
Overall, the post gained positive response in social media, so, more clout for the president who will run for next year's presidential election.
Agan, who said that the prank is to educate the public on consuming information from internet, is surprised that the president responded to his prank. "Yes, only President," Agan said, explaining who ever bother to clarify on his photo manipulation pranks.
Source: detik.com