Dance moves and deepfakes: Indonesia presidential candidates duke it out on TikTok

A boy walks past posters bearing the images of Indonesia's presidential candidates Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo at a residential area in Jakarta, Indonesia, February 11, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

JAKARTA (Reuters) - At an Indonesian presidential campaign event, 22-year-old voter Irene Putri Aisyah was busy uploading everything she saw - from cute dances to cooking demonstrations - to short video app TikTok.

To court young voters like Irene, all three candidates in the Feb. 14 race to lead Indonesia have gravitated toward TikTok, which has 125 million users in the country, second only to the United States.