AI-generated video impersonating Indonesian preacher used in money-giveaway scam on Facebook
A Facebook account posted an AI-generated deepfake video impersonating Indonesian preacher Ustaz Ujang Bustomi to promote a money-giveaway scam on 20 November 2025. Fact-checkers confirmed the video was 96.9% likely AI-generated, and Bustomi had previously denied ever making such offers, confirming all such claims as fraud.
What happened
A Facebook account named 'PT perusahaan uangtunai' posted on 20 November 2025 a video purporting to show Ustaz Ujang Bustomi offering money giveaways with claims of disbursing between 50 million to 5 billion rupiah with approval in just two hours.
The video was detected as AI-generated with 96.9% probability using Hive Moderation, a deepfake detection tool. Ustaz Bustomi himself clarified in a September 2025 YouTube livestream that claims of him distributing money through social media are false, stating he has never placed such advertisements and that impersonation accounts requesting money transfers are scams.
Reported impact
By 21 November 2025, the Facebook post had accumulated approximately 12,500 likes, 7,100 comments, and 422 shares among other Facebook users.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.