An Indonesian college student from the Bandung Institute of Technology was arrested on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, after allegedly uploading an AI-generated meme of President Prabowo and former President Joko Widodo kissing.
On May 11, Indonesian police suspended the student's detention, as confirmed by the head of the Public Relations Bureau of the Indonesian National Police, Police Brigadier General Trunoyudo Wisno Andiko.
Abdul Fickar Hadjar, a criminal law lecturer at Trisakti University, considered the arrest and detention of the ITB student excessive and harmful to democracy.
"The detention of the ITB student is an excessive and ridiculous action," he said on Sunday, May 11, 2025.
Abdul Fickar argued that in the case of the Prabowo-Jokowi meme, the police as law enforcement had overreacted and failed to understand democracy.
"I urge President Prabowo to reprimand the police to avoid the impression that his government is anti-democratic," he said.
Making and posting memes featuring political figures kissing is not a unique and isolated occurrence in Indonesia, as such images have long decorated digital and physical spaces worldwide as a form of protest and satirical commentary. Here are some of them:
Putin and Viktor Orban
Quoting a report by Metro on March 18, 2025, the Hungarian parliament passed a law that would ban the annual Pride parade for the LGBT+ community in the country.
As a form of protest against the Fidesz Party owned by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, people set off colorful smoke bombs and dropped leaflets picturing Orban and Vladimir Putin kissing.
Viktor Orban proposed amendments to the Assembly Act on the grounds that the Pride marches are harmful for children. The bill received widespread condemnation for being undemocratic.
Trump and Elon Musk
According to a report by Times of India on August 15, 2024, a meme of Trump and Elon Musk kissing emerged after Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok-2, was updated with a picture-creating feature. One user shared a picture of Elon Musk being carried by the then-running presidential candidate Trump, while another depicted Musk kissing Trump.
Trump and Netanyahu
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have also been subject to similar ridicule. Australian graffiti artist Lushsux created a mural of Trump kissing Netanyahu, which adorned the West Bank security wall in Israel.
The drawing depicted Netanyahu saying, 'THANKS FOR THE WALL TRUMPY PUMPKIN...' The inscription for Trump read: 'BEBE YOUR COUNTRY AND YOU WILL ALWAYS COME FIRST MY LOVE...'
Lushsux stated that the mural was made as a commentary on the background and the people trapped there. "I don't need to write 'Free Palestine' or something like that, something really direct [...] that people will ignore,' said Lushsux, as quoted from a report by SBS on October 30, 2017.
Obama and David Cameron
According to a report by Snopes on March 31, 2013, a fabricated image of Barack Obama kissing former British Prime Minister David Cameron emerged. The image appeared in May 2011 as part of a parody article published on the satire website ChristWire.
Amelia Rahima Sari, Sultan Abdurrahman also contributed to the writing of this article
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