Clips from Iran and East Kalimantan have been badly exposed as the influence of mines in the Indonesian Coral Hotspot
Environmental groups have captured images of the opening of the sediment run However, the video circulating in the fight on social media claims to show the land around the islands turning red was actually taken in Iran, not Indonesia.
“Rainwater flows into the sea. Raja Amppat is turning red because of mining. It has been destroyed by foreign and local Oligarchs, supported by Indonesian and Indonesian officials,” supported Indonesian-language Tiktok video posted on October 6, 2025.
The video shows people standing on rocks as red-colored mud rushes into the sea. It then cuts to a piece of barren mountain.
“Papua is sold by bahlil. Bahlil is Papuan, a fan of the people of the world,” the text of the sticker continues, referring to Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Tourism, Bahlil LahadaAdalia.
Screenshot of fake post, taken on October 21, 2025 with red X added via AFP
Indonesia’s Raja Ampat is part of the famous coral triangle, loved by a variety of marine treasures.
Following the outcry from residents and residents, government companies withdrew from four of the five mining companies operating in the Sunest islands in June (Archived Link). In September, it allowed one company – PT Gag Nikel – to resume operations, arguing that the impact “can be effectively reduced.”
But NGOs say the worst damage has already been done, and there is little sign of a cleanup. Photos submitted by teams in the region Show Sediment Run-off Turning out of water at Emerald Water Mnumby Brown, downhill.
A post referring to a video of red cliffs showing the impact of mining operations in Raja Ampat also appeared elsewhere Tiktok.
Users left comments showing this video that showed the situation in the Southeast Asian Islands.
“This is the result of greedy officials,” said one user.
“Let me say it again: This country is already ruined,” another commented.
But the clips are taken elsewhere.
Related Fook
A reverse image search on Google using Keyframes from Video led to February 9, 2025 The Persian Instagram base revealed a video showing heavy rain on Red Beach, on the island of Iran (link saved).
The clear color of the soil is due to the high concentration of iron oxide (link saved).
The Instagram user who shot the clip confirmed the location and sent AFP the metadata, saying it was filtered on February 8.
Screen comparison of fake post (left) and Instagram post (right)
A geotagged image of the beach on Google Maps shows rock features similar to those seen in the Instagram video (link saved).
Screenshot comparison of an Instagram post (left, center) and a Google Maps image (right) with related features highlighted by AFP
A separate image search returned by Google found that the scared forest clip matches a tiktok video shared on October 16, 2023 (link saved).
The user added a location tag for East Kalimantan Province in Indonesia, more than 1,500 kilometers (960 miles) from Raja Ampat.
Screenshot comparison of fake post (left) and Tiktok video (right)
AFP geolocated a section of the road leading to Kotabangun subdistrict in East Kalimantan. The blue buildings can be seen on Google Earth Street View images, while the back hill section can also be seen on satellite images – it has since been planted with oil palm (included here and here).
Screenshot comparison of Tiktok Video (left) and Google Earth images (right) with similar features highlighted by AFP
Screenshots of the Google Earth image of the video location
AFP released some negative information related to mining in RAJA AMPATAT.
