Sultan HB X Falls Victim to AI Manipulation in Leasing Advertisement
The Governor of Yogyakarta Special Region (DIY), Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono (HB) X, has once again become the victim of AI manipulation. In this latest AI-doctored video, the Sultan appears to be promoting a financial management service offering profits to its users.
“In line with our duties, we feel it necessary to inform the public about a hoax video circulated in the Governor’s name. The video gives the impression that the Governor is promoting a financial management service that profits its users — a typical scam,” said Ditya Nanaryo Aji, Substance Coordinator of the Public Relations Division at the DIY Regional Secretariat’s Bureau of General Affairs, Public Relations and Protocol, in a message to detikJogja on Tuesday (8/9/2026).
The DIY regional government’s Instagram account, @humasjogja, uploaded the AI-manipulated video of Sultan HB X with a hoax label. The public has been urged not to believe the video and not to spread it further.
The video shows the Sultan’s voice and lip movements manipulated using old footage, making him appear to promote a particular financial service. The full statement has been censored.
Ditya said there are a number of irregularities in the video that can be spotted with the naked eye.
“If you look at it closely, there are many anomalies in that video. Yet many people responded positively to the post on Facebook, which means some may still believe the video is genuine,” he said.
According to Ditya, the positive responses show that the public needs to better understand developments in AI technology. He noted that AI now makes it possible to create content resembling specific individuals, creating potential for abuse in fraud.
“We hope our outreach can raise awareness, especially among Facebook users who are mostly boomers, Gen X and early Gen Y, that AI technology has advanced to such an extent and deserves caution,” he explained.
One of the measures taken by the DIY regional government is producing educational content about the video as part of its public awareness campaign.
“Creating this content is one form of outreach. There are also campaigns conducted offline by the Communications and Informatics Office, targeting communities at the kalurahan (village) level,” Ditya said.
He added that there are, as yet, no plans to report the AI-manipulated video to the authorities.
“So far there has been no direction towards an official report,” Ditya concluded.
Previously, the Sultan had also fallen victim to AI manipulation in July. At that time, a video circulated showing the Sultan apparently making a statement about a certain matter, and the DIY regional government likewise issued a clarification.
“So it’s more of a scam, fraud. In that video, it was more or less conveyed that Ngarsa Dalem was promoting something — as if payments for goods should be made before the goods were shipped, and it mentioned a merchant, which is obviously something he would never say,” said Ditya Nanaryo Aji when met at the Kepatihan Complex in Jogja on Wednesday (22/7/2026).