BANDUNG: Malaysian social media stars Ammar Mohd Nazhan and Aras issued a public apology on Friday (Feb 7) after their live-streamed “rescue” of a fellow influencer, Eyka, in a forest in Kota Bandung turned out to have been faked.
Eyka, who posts beauty tips on TikTok to her 300,000 followers, supposedly vanished in the forest earlier this week, where she, Ammar, and others had gone. And while the dramatic “search and rescue” was watched by many on Wednesday night (Feb 5), the hoax has earned the ire of many and may have gotten the influencers into trouble with Indonesian law.
Videos put up by the influencers over TikTok and YouTube have gone viral, getting millions of views.
@amnazhan Buat kali pertama kami live , talent am hilang @Eykaaa tidak dijumpa selama berjam2. Am akan uruskan ini dengan pihak luar sekiranya eyka tak dijumpai lebih 24 jam.. DOA KAN KAMI SEMOGA DIPERMUDAHKAN URUSAN AMIN !! @𝓡 𝓐 𝓢 𝓩 ★ᴡꜰᴘ★ @TIM TROBOS MITOS
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The Indonesian news site KumparanNews quotes Bandung police chief Kompol Kurnia, saying on Feb 6, “The sensational content was made purely to increase viewership and followers. They did not realize that Indonesian law prescribes heavy penalties for those who spread false news. The content they created also did not receive approval from the authorities, despite being cleared by the local district manager.”
Mr Kompol added that the influencers have since apologized to the police via a written and video statement.
“We would like to apologize for what happened, and we promise not to repeat it,” they said in the video, which was also published on the TikTok account of KumparanNews.
@kumparan Tiktoker Malaysia, Ammar Mohd Nazhan dan Aras, meminta maaf atas video rekayasa yang mereka buat tentang hilangnya influencer asal Malaysia @/Eykaa di Hutan Bandung. Video berjudul “Pempengaruh Malaysia Hilang di Hutan Bandung Selepas Buat Content Paranormal” itu sempat membuat heboh media sosial. Mereka mengakui bahwa konten tersebut hanya untuk hiburan dan berjanji tidak akan mengulanginya. Kapolsek Panyileukan, Kompol Kurnia, menyatakan bahwa keduanya telah menandatangani surat permohonan maaf bermaterai. Video tersebut dibuat pada 2 Februari 2025 dan direkayasa agar mendapat lebih banyak rating dan followers. Dalam siaran langsung yang dilakukan di lingkungan Embah Garut, Cisurupan, Cibiru, Kota Bandung, skenario disusun seolah-olah Eykaa menghilang setelah melakukan kegiatan horor. 📸: Dok. Kapolsek Panyileukan. Follow WhatsApp Channel kumparan untuk dapat Informasi terpercaya dikirim langsung ke WhatsApp kamu. Ketik kum.pr/WAchannel di browser kamu sekarang, agar bisa share informasi tanpa ragu. #newsupdate #update #news #vidol #tiktoker #bandung #hutanbandung #horor #kontenhoror #kontenrekayasa #malaysia #tiktokermalaysia #info #beritaterkini #berita #infoterkini #bicarafaktalewatberita #kumparan
However, 22-year-old Eyka, whose real name is Nur Syafiqah, has yet to make a statement about the incident. When she had allegedly gone missing, Anmar had said that a search operation composed of his team, local villagers, police, and military personnel had been launched. He later said that Eyka received medical treatment after her “rescue.”
The incident has caused some of Ammar’s followers, who are 2.7 million strong on YouTube, to express their disapproval of his actions. While some have said that authorities in Indonesia need to teach the influencers a stronger lesson, others tagged Malaysia’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, asking him to deal with them.
Mr Fahmi commented on the matter on Saturday (Feb 8), saying, “My advice is to practice moderation and not go overboard. Let us take this as a lesson to improve how we create content. Although we do not license influencers and content creators, we should take this as a lesson and avoid acting in such a manner.” /TISG