Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – A reporting by Tempo titled "Manipulation of Drug Advertising using Artificial Intelligence" has won the online media category at the 2025 Indonesian Editors Forum Journalism Awards. The work, written by Tempo's journalist Artika Farmita, explores the practice of drug promotion on social media that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to produce fake content.
The announcement of the winners was made during the Fun Run for Good Journalism 2025 event at Atma Jaya Catholic University, South Jakarta, on Sunday, November 16, 2025. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa attended and presented the awards to the winners.
The report stems from Tempo Fact-Checking Team's findings on the rise of deepfake or fake content that utilizes AI technology to spread misinformation.
In 2023, the Fact-Checking Team uncovered five deepfake contents. A year later, the number surged to 71 contents, with health issues ranking second most frequent after social topics.
"This shows that netizens are still vulnerable to deception, especially with increasingly advanced imitation intelligence," said Artika Farmita.
In its report, Tempo found the appearance of several public figures in deepfake videos, including former Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto, who appeared in a content titled 'Secrets of Longevity.' The video also featured actress Christine Hakim and promoted hypertension drugs claimed to cure the disease within two weeks.
Other figures who were impersonated included two former Health Ministers, Nila Djuwita Moeloek and Siti Fadilah Supari, who were depicted as if promoting hypertension, diabetes, and male vitality supplements.
According to Artika, the victims of drug-related deepfakes are dominated by the elderly group. Efforts to find the victims to obtain testimony were not easy. "The elderly are vulnerable to fraud on social media," she said.
The Editor-in-Chief of Tempo, Setri Yasra, stated that this award is an appreciation for Tempo's efforts to maintain journalism quality, including through fact-checking work. "Tempo's Fact-Checking Team is one of the units that will continue to be developed. Its aim is to provide quality products and ensure the readers' right not to be tainted by fake news," said Setri.