Singgih Wiryono, Danu Damarjati, Jakarta – Influencers, activists and even university professors have been targeted in a series of terror attacks. Here's a look at the critical stances of those who have been terrorised.
The cases occurred close to each together as experienced by social media activists DJ Donny, Sherly Annavita and Virdian Aurellio.
The terror attacks they experienced included rotten eggs being thrown at their homes, vandalism of private vehicles, the breaking of car windows, Molotov cocktails being thrown, the delivery of chicken carcasses and even phone calls threatening their arrest.
So what were they saying before receiving these terror attacks so close together? The three influencers and one activist have one thing in common: they criticised the government before the attacks.
All three criticised the government's public communication methods, both executive and legislative, which they deemed insensitive to public sympathy and empathy.
At the end of 2025 following the flood and landslide disaster in Sumatra, the public discussed incidents such as Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan carrying sacks of rice, House of Representatives (DPR) member Verrel Bramasta inspecting the floods wearing a bulletproof vest, and DPR member Endipat Wijaya's sarcastic remark about "the most hardworking".
The public also discussed Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia who stated that Aceh's electricity had been restored to 93 percent on December 7, when in fact it was only 36 percent.
DJ Donny
DJ Donny or Ramond Dony Adam, who had a chicken carcass delivered to his home and having his house bombed with a Molotov cocktail, criticised the government's public communication methods regarding the status of disaster management in Sumatra.
He said that influencers who went directly to disaster sites, such as Ferry Irwandi, gained public sympathy because they effectively conveyed the progress of disaster management.
In a podcast actor and TV host Denny Sumargo uploaded on December 17, DJ Donny strongly criticised the government's public communication methods, saying it needs to be improved immediately.
"Who can clean up the mess (after this flood disaster)? Yes, the government, but why is Ferry Irwandi the only one in the spotlight?", he added.
Virdian Aurelio
Another criticism came from social media activist Virdian Aurelio on a Kompas TV talk show regarding disaster management in Sumatra on December 5. Aurelio's car window was smashed in mid-December.
In the Kompas TV talk show, Aurelio said that that many Gen-Zs no longer trust the way the government anticipates disasters that occur, especially those caused by deforestation and the mineral business.
"We feel we deserve it today, we still have a long life, a share of the money no, we'll also drown yes", he said. He also criticised the government's move to solicit assistance, which he believes to be merely following influencers by opening disaster donations.
Yet many citizens have already fulfilled their tax obligations for state operational expenditures, including disaster management.
"If they want more money, if the state wants more money, take it back from various environmental corruption cases, numbering in the hundreds of trillions, don't instead make donations internally", said Aurelio.
Sherly Annavita
Finally, from the influencer community, Sherly Annavita. She was terrorised by the vandalism of her private car, which was defaced and her house pelted with rotten eggs.
Annavita has appeared in several media interviews, including one on Kompas TV on December 11, on the topic of flood management in Sumatra.
At the time Annavita criticised the government for rejecting foreign aid related to flood management in West Sumatra, North Sumatra and Aceh.
She also found the stance of the legislative strange, which she felt was deliberately pitting civil society's mutual assistance against the government's efforts to deal with the floods.
"Until the hashtag 'citizens helping citizens' emerged, this right was actually a response to the situation and conditions, why hasn't the aid arrived yeah, let's just help each other. This isn't meant to attack any particular party, but the diction (accusations about who's doing the most work) made us all confused, why does it seem as if the fault lies with the citizens who are trying to collect donations and are directly present in the community?", she said.
Annavita also strongly criticised the government's attitude, which she considered to have double standards regarding its treatment of foreign parties.
She said that residents impacted upon by the disaster complained about why the government refused to accept foreign disaster aid, while when it came to business matters, the government is open.
"It's heartbreaking to hear communities when they have to say, 'when it's our turn for foreign aid it's rejected, when it's their turn foreign workers are accepted, if in a situation like this they can't send aid, just send us shrouds'. This depicts what the current state of society is like", she said.
Greenpeace activist Iqbal Damanik
Not just influencers, but also activists including Greenpeace Indonesia Climate and Energy Campaign Manager Iqbal Damanik have suffered terror.
On December 30, a mysterious package containing a dead chicken arrived at his house with a letter at the foot of the carcass.
The letter read, "WATCH WHAT YOU SAY IF YOU WANT TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY, YOUR MOUTH IS YOUR OWN WORSE ENEMY".
Damanik is known as an environmental activist who has spoken out critically about ecological damage and deforestation in Indonesia.
He has frequently criticised the government, including over the granting of mining concessions to community or social organisations (Ormas).
Damanik's mining concession dispute with Ulil Abshar Abdala, the chairperson of the Islamic mass organisation Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board, attracted public attention and gave rise to the popular term "environmental Wahhabi".
Zainal Arifin Mochtar
Meanwhile, a recent terror attack against an academic was revealed by Gajah Mada University (UGM) Faculty of Law Professor Zainal Arifin Mochtar.
Uceng, as he is known by his friends, said he received phone calls threatening his arrest up to twice a day. He received the threats on January 2 and posted them on his Instagram account.
Uceng is known as an academic, a professor of state institutional law at UGM and a critic of the government.
He has been known to criticise the government's work practices on several occasions, particularly regarding the advancement of democracy.
Some of his critical works include a documentary film with fellow constitutional law experts Bivitri Susanti and Feri Amsari entitled "Dirty Vote".
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Jejak Sikap Kritis DJ Donny hingga Zainal Arifin Mochtar yang Kini Diteror".]
