Indonesian telco gets sued over an ad that mocked a city

Indonesia is one of the biggest social media markets in the world. Any company that wants to thrive there needs to understand the netizens’ online behaviors in order to get content to go viral. Last week, however, Indonesian telco Indosat went viral for all the wrong reasons. A new advertisement for the telco aired on TV¹ and social media, but it backfired spectacularly. Now the company is being sued for offending people online.

Under Indonesian law, a firm or individual can get sued for offending people on the internet.

Indosat’s disastrous ad contrasts how easy it is to go on a holiday to Australia compared to an array of hassles faced when visiting the Indonesian city of Bekasi. It portrays Bekasi as an inconvenient travel destination.

In late 2014, a barrage of viral memes mocked Bekasi for its hot weather and the long distance within Jabodetabek area (example below). And a lot of people were laughing – even people living in Bekasi.

Indosat took a risk in using the recent meme for its ad campaign – but this time the residents of Bekasi aren’t laughing. Instead, a number of Bekasi citizens – along with its mayor – were angered by the ad. Then, on Friday, a few citizen groups decided to take the case to court.

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On Twitter, some people expressed their disappointment in Indosat’s ad, while some others say that people took the joke too seriously.

Indosat has since issued a public apology about the ad, and took it down. The telco’s executives have also made personal visits to Bekasi government officials. The company has reiterated its commitment to existing public service programs in Bekasi, such as a “keep the city litter-free” awareness campaign, and supporting Bekasi’s chess grandmaster. However, the court case remains open.

A similar incident happened last year, when a netizen named Florence Sihombing made a mocking remark on social media about the citizens of Jogjakarta city. Not only was Sihombing subjected to abuse online, she was also sued in court. And even though the group who sued her “accepted” her apology, Sihombing’s court case is still ongoing. She could face up to six years of imprisonment if found guilty.

(Source: Tempo – article in Indonesian)