Homeless Media Respond to Qodari's Claim of Being Government Partners

A number of homeless media outlets, mentioned by the Head of the Government Communication Agency (Bakom) M. Qodari as part of the New Media Forum, have responded to their naming as government partners. Qodari described these homeless media as grouped under the New Media Forum. He also listed several platforms in the forum, from Folkative, Indozone, Dagelan, Indomusikgram, Infipop, USS Feeds, Bapak-bapak ID, Menjadi Manusia, GNFI, Creativox, Kok Bisa, Taubatters, Pandemictalks, Kawan Hawa, Volix, Ngomongin Uang, Big Alpha, Goodstats, Hai Dudu, Proud Project, Kumpul Leaders, CXO Media, The Mapple Media, Melodi Alam, Mahasiswa dan Jakarta, and Mature Indonesia. “The presence of friends from New Media reflects Bakom’s efforts to reach the public as widely as possible, not only through conventional media but also through digital channels that today have become the reality of media or digital communication reality as a form of technological and social development,” Qodari said at a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday (6/5). Several media outlets mentioned by Qodari have given responses. Narasi Newsroom refuted Qodari’s statement. They stated they are not part of the Indonesia New Media Forum (INMF). Through their official Instagram, Narasi also said they were unaware, uninvolved, and did not attend any meetings or press conferences regarding INMF and Bakom on 6 May 2026. In addition, Narasi stated that they are an official media registered and verified by the Press Council. “Narasi operates in accordance with the Journalistic Code of Ethics listed on the official Press Council website,” Narasi wrote on their Instagram @narasinewsroom on Thursday (7/5). Bapak2id also denied Qodari’s statement. Through their Instagram post, they stated that they are not part of INMF. In their post, they even admitted to being shocked by the news. “We are not involved at all, didn’t attend, and don’t understand it,” they wrote. A similar statement was made by the @ngomonginuang account, stating they never received an invitation, attended a meeting, or even communicated with Bakom RI. They also stated that what Qodari said was not true. “Claims in various media stating that Ngomongin Uang is ‘partnered’ or becomes a ‘government partner’ are NOT TRUE,” they wrote on Instagram. The same goes for the NKSTHI account. They stated they were never contacted and agreed to any form of cooperation with Bakom. Slightly different from the others, NKSTHI acknowledged that they are in INMF, but this cannot be interpreted as agreement to the cooperation claim made by Qodari. They stated that the forum never declared itself as a government partner. “Because the NKSTHI name has been included in a narrative not originating from, known by, or approved by us, as of today, Thursday, 7 May 2026, NKSTHI decides to leave the Indonesia New Media Forum,” they wrote on their X account @nksthi. The same goes for the @BigAlphaID account, which confirmed they are one of INMF’s members, but they denied being recruited by Bakom to become government partners. “It is not true that Big Alpha was recruited by Bakom to become a partner in conveying or implementing government programmes,” Big Alpha ID wrote. Through their X account, they explained that INMF is an independent forum initiated in July 2025 together with several new media players in Indonesia as a platform for communication, collaboration, and advocacy to promote a healthy digital media ecosystem. “Big Alpha’s commitment, values, and stance to always be independent in presenting objective, data-based content, prioritising accurate, credible, and accountable information,” it wrote. Meanwhile, the Kok Bisa @kokbisachannel account also denied being government partners. Through a tweet on their X account, they also denied attending the Palace yesterday. “No, guys. ♀️ With this, the admin and all the Kok Bisa team including Kobi, Sasa, up to Oyen want to say: we didn’t attend the meeting with BAKOM RI and didn’t establish a partnership as a government-supporting media,” the account tweeted.