As independence protests continued to rile the Indonesian province of West Papua, Facebook removed pages designed to appear supportive of West Papuan independence but that instead shared pro-Indonesian government content.

In total, Facebook took down 69 Facebook accounts, 42 pages, and 34 Instagram accounts for engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” The DFRLab analyzed 23 of the Facebook pages ahead of their removal.

In its announcement, Facebook stated:

The people behind this network used fake accounts to manage Pages, disseminate their content and drive people to off-platform sites. They primarily posted in English and Bahasa Indonesia about West Papua with some Pages sharing content in support of the independence movement, while others posting criticism of it. Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities, our investigation found links to an Indonesia media firm InsightID.

The DFRLab’s analysis found that, while many of the pages looked supportive of the West Papuan independence movement on the surface, they primarily posted content demonizing the protesters as extremists and supporting the Indonesian government’s vested economic and political interests in the region. The DFRLab was unable to corroborate the link to InsightID, though some of the content came directly from the Indonesian government’s state news agency, Antara.

Protests in West Papua, particularly for independence, are common. In 1962, the Dutch agreed to cede West Papua to Indonesia, providing that West Papuans voted to become a part of Indonesia within seven years. In the period between 1962 and 1969, the Indonesian army killed 30,000 West Papuans. In August 1969, many West Papuans were forcibly coerced into voting for Indonesian control in what was called the “Act of Free Choice.” As of 2017, a majority of West Papuans wanted the right to self-determination.

Amid this high interest in independence, renewed allegations of Indonesian racism against Papuans led to a recent protest on September 23, 2019, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 30 to 40 people. Indonesian authorities claimed that most of the deaths were non-Papuans who died from burns, stabs, and arrow wounds. In contrast, witnesses to the protest have alleged that many Papuans died from shootings after the Indonesian police opened fire on the participants.

Camouflaging as West Papuan news outlets

All of the Facebook pages taken down had “Papua” or “West Papua” in their names and related to West Papuan issues. Names such as “West Papua Independence” and “West Papua Freedom” created the impression that the pages were sympathetic toward West Papuan protesters. In reality, the pages promoted Indonesian state interests.

So-called pro-independence West Papua pages actually promoted content supporting the Indonesian government. (Source: Facebook)

The “West Papua Media” Facebook page characterized the pro-independence protesters as extremists. (Source: Facebook)

Descriptions such as “West Papuan extremist groups” and “anarchist demonstrations,” as in the example above, indicated that these Facebook pages were not supportive of the ongoing West Papuan protests.

Inauthentic and coordinated activity over time

Several sets of Facebook pages created on the same dates shared a number of similarities, indicating a coordinated effort to push a pro-Indonesian government agenda. At least two individual dates (August 14, 2018, and February 28, 2019) saw the creation of five pages, while three additional subsets comprising two or three pages were also created on other individual dates.

Five Facebook pages created in September 2019 showed evidence of coordinated behavior to push Indonesian state interests and decry the West Papuan independence movement. Out of the five pages, three were created September 13, 2019, and two were created on September 16. All of these pages had “West Papua” in their names followed by a noun: “Independence,” “Channel,” “Fact,” “Talks,” and “Freedom.” All five pages posted in Indonesian and English, had a low number of likes ranging from 12 to 198, and ran video ads.

The creation dates for these five pages were notable as they were created in the lead up to the 2019 UN General Assembly on September 17. Three of the pages had ads that directly invoked the United Nations, particularly in reference to West Papuan independence.

Ads from three of the pages invoking the United Nations. (Source: Facebook)

In 2017, 70 percent of West Papuans — 1.8 million people — signed a petition for the right to self-determination, an act the Indonesian government has banned. The petition was presented to the United Nations, and the Pacific Islands Forum has called on the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate human rights abuses in West Papua. Seven Pacific states expressed support for West Papuan independence at the 2016 UN General Assembly.

Indonesia has resisted the calls, arguing that the unrest in West Papua is purely a domestic issue. The pages’ ads defended the Indonesian government’s stance on West Papua.

An ad from one of the five pages, defending Indonesia’s control of West Papua and decrying the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, who had condemned the human rights abuses while at the UN General Assembly podium. (Source: Facebook)

Three out of the five pages shared the exact same video post of Indonesian diplomat Rayyanul Sangadji speaking at the 2019 UN General Assembly. Sangadji, who describes himself in the video as “an Indonesian with Melanesian roots,” defends Indonesia’s human rights record in West Papua and asserts that the area is an integral part of a pluralistic Indonesia.