Incorrect Garuda Emblem Design on Pancasila Day Poster, BRIN Apologises

The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has issued a public apology for errors in the Garuda emblem design on a Pancasila Day poster uploaded on Monday, 1 June 2026. The mistake drew sharp criticism from netizens for not conforming to official state protocols.

Critical errors were found in the number of feathers on the Garuda emblem. The circulated poster showed 15 and 16 feathers on the wings and seven on the tail, whereas official regulations mandate 17 feathers per wing and eight on the tail, symbolising Indonesia’s independence date.

In addition to feather count, details on the shield, such as the bull’s head and beringin tree symbols, were imperfect and deviated from the original designs. This led netizens to suspect BRIN used artificial intelligence (AI) to create the content without rigorous verification.

In response to the backlash, BRIN promptly removed the problematic poster and replaced it with a corrected version. On its official X account, BRIN acknowledged the error and pledged to conduct an internal review.

‘BRIN Indonesia offers its deepest apologies for the error in the Pancasila Day content we shared. This serves as a lesson for us to be more meticulous, careful, and cautious in future content creation and dissemination,’ stated the official @brin_indonesia post on Monday (1/6).

The incident has drawn public attention given BRIN’s status as Indonesia’s top research institution, which is expected to prioritise accuracy, including in the use of national symbols in public communications. (Z-10)