Monash University Researcher Reveals Pattern of Old Demo Videos Going Viral Again
A researcher from Monash University Indonesia has revealed a pattern of old student demonstration videos being deliberately re-viralised on social media. Data analysis conducted across several social media platforms from 26 July to 1 August 2026 identified 197,000 posts on X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook related to the demonstrations, involving 63,000 unique users. The peak volume occurred on 27 July, with 50,000 posts.
Monash University Indonesia researcher Ika Idris stated that many of these posts contained old or edited videos of student protests, presented as if they were recent recordings. “The recurring issue is the spread of disinformation, particularly through the use of old or edited videos presented as current footage. This practice is criticised because it misleads the public and potentially undermines genuine demonstration efforts,” Ika told journalists on Wednesday (5/8/2026).
She also identified a specific pattern used to make these videos go viral, noting that the majority of the content was shared via retweets in a manner impossible to achieve manually. Of the 34,935 X posts analysed, 99.46 percent were retweets. Some accounts displayed highly suspicious activity, such as one account that executed nine different retweets within approximately 105 milliseconds. Other accounts were found to retweet with intervals of less than one second, indicating the use of scripts, automated applications, or bulk retweet mechanisms designed to artificially inflate engagement.
Another prominent pattern was a ‘seed-and-amplify’ structure, where a small number of accounts create or disseminate the initial narrative, which is then retweeted by thousands of other accounts. A single post from the account @dieddfish generated 13,446 retweets, accounting for 38.7 percent of all retweet activity. The top ten source posts contributed to 88.5 percent of the overall activity.
The analysis also highlighted the role of a blue-check account, @urflowerz, which posted an old demonstration video. The post exhibited a highly coordinated narrative structure, suggesting narrative coordination or coordinated amplification. This structure included an ‘urgency hook’ using capital letters and alarm emojis, which accounted for 68.1 percent of amplification. Other elements included the inflation of scale, portraying the demonstrations as massive and nationwide; suppression claims accusing the national media of a deliberate blackout; repression claims alleging signal jamming and sabotage by authorities; emotional judgement using charged language like ‘disgusting’ and ‘tyrannical regime’; and a call to amplify, urging audiences to like and repost to beat the algorithm.
Ika further clarified that the most shared accounts possessed blue checkmarks, which currently signify an X Premium subscription and basic eligibility rather than verified identity or expertise.