April 13, 2026 | 12:03 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A video showing a ship dumping a massive pile of trash into the open sea has been widely circulating on various social media platforms since late March 2026. The content has spread on Instagram [archive], Facebook, Threads, TikTok, and X, with claims that the location is in Indonesian waters.
The video includes a narration expressing public concern over the discovery of trash suspected to have originated from abroad. “The discovery of trash suspected to have originated from abroad in Indonesian waters has sparked public concern. The origin of the trash is still under investigation, while calls are mounting for the government to thoroughly investigate the matter and tighten maritime surveillance to protect the environment and national sovereignty,” reads the caption in the post.
However, did this mass dumping of trash actually take place in Indonesian waters?
FACT CHECK
Tempo verified the content through visual analysis, AI detection tools, and social media searches. In fact, although Indonesia faces a marine debris problem, the video is a product of AI-generated imagery.
Tempo’s visual analysis revealed inconsistencies in the dumped trash; the majority was gray, in contrast to the colorful nature of typical marine debris. The objects also appeared static despite being battered by waves, as if stuck together and rigidly attached to the sea surface.
After conducting a visual analysis, Tempo reviewed conversations on the X platform regarding the video. Several netizens shared screenshots of when the video was first uploaded to the social media platform. The caption “made with AI” was visible in the initial version, indicating that the video was created using AI.
Before circulating in Indonesia, the video was first shared by a Kannada-language account on X on February 23, 2026. Kannada is spoken by residents of the Indian state of Karnataka.
The Hive Moderation tool confirmed that the AI-generated content in the 12-second video accounted for 99.9 percent of the video.
The AI or Not tool also detected 71 percent of the content as AI-generated, likely using the Suno audio model.
Marine Debris Crisis
Tempo reports that data from the National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN) 2025 indicates that national waste generation reaches 50 million tons per year. Nearly half of this, approximately 20 million tons, ends up in the ocean via river flows, coastal areas, and port activities.
This pollution not only damages the environment’s aesthetics but also drives away fish populations. In the waters around Java Island, fish stocks are reported to be moving south, west, and east.
In response to this situation, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has launched the Clean, Healthy, and Waste-Free Seas (Laut Sebasah) program. Partnering with the private sector and NGOs, the government aims to reduce marine waste by 40 percent by 2027 and 70 percent by 2029.
However, Ecoton Executive Director Daru Setyorini believes the government’s efforts have yet to yield significant results. According to her, current initiatives remain insufficiently systematic and large-scale. The prevailing approach has tended to view plastic pollution solely as a waste management issue.
This situation has led to a mismatch between waste volume and regional processing capacity, which, on average, remains below 25 percent nationwide. Consequently, policies restricting plastic use during shopping have not been effective.
“Although more than 100 regencies and cities already have local regulations restricting single-use plastics, these regulations remain merely rules that are not strictly and comprehensively enforced,” said Daru on Friday, April 3, 2026.
CONCLUSION
Tempo’s verification concludes that the claim that foreign waste is being dumped into Indonesian waters via ships is false.
TEMPO FACT-CHECK TEAM
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