Press Council Rules Forum Keadilan TV Podcast Breached Journalistic Code of Ethics
The Press Council has ruled that a Forum Keadilan TV podcast featuring allegations of bribery at a Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) congress breached the Journalistic Code of Ethics.
The council also found that the programme contained defamatory material, as it broadcast unfounded negative allegations against the complainant.
The findings were set out in Resolution No. 25/Risalah-DP/X/2026, dated 15 October 2026, following a complaint lodged by Saifullah Yusuf (Gus Ipul) through his lawyer.
In its resolution, the Press Council said Forum Keadilan TV had not provided sufficient evidence for its allegation that the complainant was involved in bribery at the congress.
Gus Ipul’s lawyer, Anom Surya Putra, said the council’s assessment was an important clarification of allegations that had circulated in the public sphere.
“The Press Council’s ruling is very clear. The allegations made in the podcast were not supported by sufficient evidence. The council explicitly found the programme defamatory because it broadcast baseless allegations,” Anom said in a written statement on Thursday (15 October 2026).
Anom said serious allegations affecting a person’s reputation—particularly that of a religious figure and organisational leader—should not be circulated without adequate verification and an opportunity to respond.
“An allegation does not become true simply because it is repeated. Anyone making an allegation must be able to substantiate it with evidence, rather than merely shaping public opinion,” he said.
Syamsul Huda Yudha, coordinator of Gus Ipul’s legal team, said the Press Council also found a breach of the principle of balance, as Gus Ipul had not been given an equal opportunity to respond before the allegations were broadcast.
As a result of the violations, the Press Council ordered Forum Keadilan TV to remove some of the disputed content, provide a proportionate right of reply, and apologise to the complainant and the public.
“This should be a lesson that press freedom cannot be separated from responsibility. Criticism is permitted, but defamation has no place in journalism,” Yudha said.
In the resolution, signed by Press Council Chairman Komaruddin Hidayat, the council said Forum Keadilan TV had violated Article 1 of the Journalistic Code of Ethics because its reporting was inaccurate and unbalanced. The broadcaster had failed to give the accused party an opportunity to respond and had not provided sufficient evidence for the allegation that the complainant was involved in bribery.
Forum Keadilan TV was also found to have breached Article 3 of the code by failing to verify information and disregarding the presumption of innocence.
The Press Council further ruled that the outlet had violated Article 4, which prohibits defamatory reporting, by broadcasting baseless negative allegations against the complainant.
Gus Ipul had previously complained to the Press Council, through his lawyer, about the Madilog podcast on Forum Keadilan TV’s YouTube channel.
The complaint concerned allegations made by Khalilur R. Abdullah Sahlawiy (Lilur) in Forum Keadilan TV episodes published on 12 and 22 September 2026. In the programmes, Lilur alleged a series of bribes at NU’s 35th Congress and claimed that funds from corruption had flowed at the congress venue.