December 21, 2025 | 01:36 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Two videos showing the rescue of a Sumatran tiger by Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) personnel and an elephant during the Sumatran floods circulated on TikTok [archive], Facebook, and Instagram in the second week of December 2025.
In the first post, two TNI personnel are seen carrying a tiger cub in a flood-affected area. The second video shows an elephant rescuing a Sumatran tiger from a strong river current. The narrative in both posts claims the incident occurred during the Sumatran floods in late November 2025.
However, is the footage of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) rescuing a tiger and an elephant during the Sumatra disaster authentic?
FACT CHECK
Tempo verified the videos through visual inspection, scanning using an artificial intelligence (AI) content detection application, and comparing the narratives with information from credible sources. The results showed that the videos were artificially generated.
Claim 1: TNI Saves Sumatran Tiger
The first video shows two TNI members in camouflage holding a Sumatran tiger cub. Manual analysis revealed irregularities.
The first apparent anomaly is the blurry face of one of the TNI members. When he screams, his mouth movements do not match the words he utters.
Meanwhile, in the image of the tiger, it appears to have only three legs and no tail. This kind of inconsistency is common in videos created with AI-based imitation machines.
Tests using the AI detection app Hive Moderation yielded a 99.9 percent probability of AI use. Similarly, Illuminarty's AI detection results indicated a 22.09 percent probability of AI use.
Claim 2: An Elephant Saves a Tiger Amidst Sumatran Floods
In the second video, several sections of the content show irregularities. The stripes on the tiger's fur often blur or disappear when the animal moves.
The Hive Moderation detection tool found a 93.7 percent probability that the visual was AI-generated. Zhuque detection found a 32.32 percent probability that the video contained AI elements. Meanwhile, the Was It AI conclusively determined that the video was AI-generated.
Sumatra Flood Disaster
According to a Tempo report, the Head of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Teuku Faisal Fathani, stated that weather anomalies caused tropical cyclone Senyar to cause flooding in Sumatra at the end of November 2025.
According to the Tropical Forest Conservation Action for Sumatra (TFCA-Sumatera) website, the devastating floods and landslides that hit Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra not only caused casualties and infrastructure damage. They also affected the habitats of Sumatra's key wildlife—elephants, tigers, rhinos, and orangutans—which depend on the now-destroyed forest network. Surprisingly, reports of mass encounters between animals and humans have been relatively minimal to date.
Several reasons are suspected. First, some animals may have died on the spot due to fallen trees, landslides, or strong flood currents, so there is no visible "migration" cycle to human areas. Second, many animals have relocated to remaining pockets of relatively safe habitat, places difficult for humans and rescue teams to access, so field observations have not yet encountered them.
Third, some populations may be fragmented and isolated, making detection more difficult. They may sneak into dense vegetation, caves, valley nooks, or small islands of forest that have survived. Fourth, limited access and the focus of the humanitarian response mean that systematic wildlife surveys have not been prioritized, so initial data tends to be minimal and unrepresentative of the true ecological situation.
CONCLUSION
Tempo's verification concluded that the narrative that Indonesian military personnel and elephants saved Sumatran tigers is false. The videos were produced using AI.
TEMPO FACT CHECK TEAM
**Do you have information or claims that you want to have fact-checked? Contact our ChatBot. You can also send criticism, objections, or feedback for this Fact-Checking article via email to [email protected].
Fact Check: Ronaldo Aid Video to Aceh Is False
3 hari lalu
Fact check - Some of the videos circulating are from different events and are the result of AI.
Fact Check: True, White Flags in Aceh Were a Call for Help
4 hari lalu
Fact check - Acehnese people raised the white flag to seek help in disaster management.
Fact Check: AI Generated Videos Falsely Claim TNI Is Probing Illegal Logging in Sumatra
5 hari lalu
Fact check - The videos circulating were created with artificial intelligence (AI).
Fact Check: Claims of Bodies in Cars After Aceh Floods Are False
6 hari lalu
Fact check - The Aceh Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) and the Aceh Tamiang Police denied this information.
Fact Check: Viral Video Linked to Lampung Floods Is Misleading
7 hari lalu
Fact check - The flash flood incident in the video occurred in Padang City, West Sumatra, not in Lampung.
Fact Check: Fake Video Falsely Claims 11 Nations Aid Sumatra
10 hari lalu
Fact check - A number of clips in the video were created using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Fact Check: Indonesian Religious Affairs Ministry Aid-to-Churches Claim Proven False
11 hari lalu
Fact check - The Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs has never distributed such a letter.
Fact Check: Misleading Claim Circulates on Jokowi's Alleged 2025 Visit to West Sumatra
12 hari lalu
Fact check - Jokowi's visit in the video took place in 2024 when he was still the President of Indonesia.
Fact Check: False Claim That Prabowo Declared the Sumatra Disaster a National Disaster on December 3, 2025
13 hari lalu
fact check - A screenshot of a news article titled "President Prabowo Declares Floods in Aceh and Sumatra a National Disaster" circulated on Instagram
Fact Check: False, BMKG Did Not Predict a Tsunami in Lampung for Early December 2025
14 hari lalu
Fact check - Two pieces of content containing claims of tidal flooding and tsunami threats in Lampung Province are circulating on TikTok and Facebook.
