October 15, 2025 | 08:18 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A group of supporters of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka are planning to establish a cyber team. Their aim is to counter the narrative regarding the free nutritious meal program (MBG) which they believe is being slandered on social media.
"We will collectively move to counter disinformation, slander, and hatred continuously launched by people who do not want MBG to be successful," said Ricky Tamba, a representative of the volunteer organization Jaringan 98, during a visit to the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) office in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
Ricky accused individuals who do not support Prabowo of launching attacks against their flagship program, MBG.
Ricky explained the narratives that the volunteers consider as slander against MBG. One of them is news or information that is not true regarding the poisoning of MBG in schools.
Ricky highlighted the news he referred to as clickbait. He gave an example of media coverage about the death of a student in West Bandung in September.
Several media outlets, he said, linked the case to MBG poisoning. "It was said that one person died from poisoning, although it did not happen after verification," said the man who also serves as the Chairman of the Central Leadership Council (DPP) of the Gerindra Party.
The media that amplified the news, according to Ricky, spread false information. He referred to Prabowo's volunteers who will counter this narrative. "This is part of the duty of the volunteers to counter disinformation, slander, and hatred," he said.
According to Ricky, media or figures who amplify false news about MBG are more wicked than the fake news itself. "Because false news spreads wider, eventually sparking unrest everywhere," Ricky said.
At least seven volunteer organizations supporting Prabowo have expressed their intention to form a cyber team. These volunteer organizations have formed an alliance called the Great Indonesia Alliance. Within it, there are the Gatot Kaca organization, Jaringan 98, Team 8 Prabowo-Gibran, Nawasena Indonesia Emas, Srikandi Prabowo-Gibran Experience, Bara JP, and Pancasila National House.
As for an example of slanderous news mentioned by Ricky related to the poisoning case of 121 students at SMK Negeri 1 Cihampelas, West Bandung. The poisoning occurred after they consumed free nutritious meals on Wednesday, September 24, 2025. Rumors circulated that one of them died allegedly from consuming MBG.
A chronology made by the West Bandung Health Office stated that a student with the initial BR did not die from consuming free meals at his school. According to the office's investigation, there was a gap of more than two days between the victim consuming the free meal and showing symptoms of illness.
The Head of BGN, Dadan Hindayana, responded to the case of students from SMK Negeri 1 Cihampelas, West Bandung Regency who died after consuming free nutritious meals. Dadan stated that the student's death had no connection with MBG.
"It has been explained from there that there is no connection," Dadan said at the Ministry of Health Building in Jakarta, Thursday, October 2, 2025.
Dadan mentioned that BGN has not yet conducted an investigation to determine the cause of the student's death. He said the victim's parents did not allow an autopsy.
Hendrik Yaputra and Dinda Shabrina contributed to the writing of this article.
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