Jakarta. The Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) plans to take serious action against individuals responsible for creating a fake website using the party’s domain to publish defamatory articles targeting President-Elect Prabowo Subianto and Vice President-Elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka, a party official said on Friday.

The fake website, now deleted, took advantage of the online buzz surrounding the controversial Fufufafa social media accounts, which had previously posted criticisms of Prabowo. Many internet users speculated that Gibran, son of outgoing President Joko Widodo, was behind the accounts, especially during the contentious 2014 and 2019 presidential elections, where Prabowo faced off against his father.

Prabowo, who won the 2024 presidential election on his third attempt, with Gibran as his running mate, is also the founder and chairman of Gerindra.

Gerindra’s acting chairman, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, said that the fake website -- using the domain Gerindra.org -- was clearly intended to sow division between Prabowo and Gibran ahead of their inauguration in less than two months.

“The website was designed to create discord, so we are taking serious actions to combat this disinformation,” Dasco said at the legislature building in Jakarta.

Dasco added that the party has contacted the Communication and Informatics Ministry to have the fraudulent website taken down.

“In recent days, there have been rumors accusing Gibran of owning those social media accounts. Now, we are faced with a fake website impersonating Gerindra. We’ve filed a formal complaint with the ministry and other relevant authorities to act in accordance with the law,” he said.

Dasco also mentioned that Prabowo was largely unconcerned by the controversy but, as the party’s acting chairman, he felt obligated to respond to the impersonation.

“Since Gerindra’s identity was used, I, as acting chairman, must take the necessary steps to address this issue,” Dasco said.