TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Two media outlets in Riau Islands recently experienced threats in the form of fictitious orders for online motorcycle taxi or online ojek services. The affected outlets are Batamnews and Ulasan Network.
CEO of Batamnews, Zuhri Muhammad, reported that around 100 online ojek drivers suddenly arrived at his office on Sunday morning, July 27, 2025, at approximately 8:00 a.m. local time.
"The drivers claimed they had received orders to pick up documents," Zuhri said in an official statement received by Tempo on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. He confirmed that he never placed these orders. An investigation showed that the customer data was not visible in the application.
"The recipient we contacted was reachable, but they claimed to have no connection and were not expecting that order. Meanwhile, the customer couldn't be reached because their data wasn't visible in the application," Zuhri explained.
An hour later, a similar incident occurred at the Ulasan Network office in Tanjungpinang. Dozens of Gojek drivers arrived to pick up and deliver newspapers to a regional government building. However, Ulasan Network is an online media platform that manages ulasan.co and ulasan.tv and does not publish printed newspapers.
Muhammad Rakhmat, Head of the Ulasan Network News Division, stated that this was a first-time incident and believes it was a planned act. "These fictitious orders against two news offices in Kepri, Ulasan Network and Batamnews, were highly planned. It's possible they were carried out systematically with negative intentions," he said.
Yogi Eka Sahputra, Chairperson of the Independent Journalist Alliance (AJI) Batam, condemned the intimidation and urged police to investigate and arrest the perpetrators. "This action is an attempt to silence the press and intimidate journalistic work," said Yogi.
He called on the police and law enforcement to investigate the cases thoroughly, warning that allowing such terror to continue would set a dangerous precedent that threatens freedom of the press and expression.
"Urging all parties who feel aggrieved by the news coverage to follow the mechanisms stipulated in the Press Law, such as using the right of reply, the right of correction, or through mediation at the Press Council," Yogi advised.
He also advised journalists and media outlets to continue their professional work and uphold the Journalistic Code of Ethics.
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