Fact Check: Indonesian Religious Affairs Ministry Aid-to-Churches Claim Proven False

December 10, 2025 | 12:43 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Content claiming that the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs will distribute aid worth between Rp100 million and Rp2 billion to non-Muslim citizens and churches is circulating on Facebook [archive]. The aid is said to come from Australia through the Direct Aid Program (DAP). 

The post contains a screenshot of a circular letter with the letterhead of the Directorate General of Christian Community Guidance of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The narrative in the content states that the Deputy Ambassador of Australia has distributed Direct Aid Program assistance funds to non-Muslims and churches throughout Indonesia.

Is it true that the Directorate General of Christian Community Guidance of the Ministry of Religious Affairs issued a circular letter regarding assistance for non-Muslim citizens and churches?

FACT CHECK

Tempo verified this narrative by interviewing the Ministry of Religious Affairs and searching credible websites. The result is that the circular letter is fake and the Ministry of Religious Affairs has never distributed aid from Australia.

The Head of the Public Relations and Communications Bureau of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Thobib Al-Asyhar, denied ever distributing a letter like the one circulating on Facebook.

“Based on information from the Directorate General of Christian Community Guidance, the content is a hoax. So just ignore it,” Thobib told Tempo on Friday, December 5, 2025.

Thobib then shared the circular letter from the Directorate General of Christian Community Guidance numbered B-431/DJIV/HM 00/09/2025. The letter urges the public to be vigilant about the proliferation of fake content that misuses the name of the institution.

All official information related to the Directorate General of Christian Community Guidance of the Ministry of Religious Affairs is only conveyed through the official channel www.bimaskristen.kemenag.go.id and social media accounts, namely Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, and TikTok.

“Any form of loss incurred is the responsibility of the party concerned, and the Directorate General of Christian Community Guidance is not responsible for this,” reads an excerpt from the official letter.

Tempo also compared the letter format on Facebook with the original document. The differences are immediately noticeable. The fake letter does not include the letter number and title. Other irregularities are evident in the text format, as well as the absence of an official stamp and signature.

CONCLUSION

Tempo's verification concludes that the content claiming that the Ministry of Religious Affairs distributed aid from Australia to non-Muslim citizens and churches is false.

TEMPO FACT CHECK TEAM

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