Fourteen members of the “Muslim Cyber Army” have been arrested by Indonesian police over online misinformation campaigns, hate speech and hacking.
The suspects have been accused of spreading false reports, defamation, racial and religious discrimination and other crimes.
According to Indonesian police, the network was orchestrated through a central WhatsApp group called the Family MCA and more members are still to be detained.
Brutal ‘bounty hunting’
The police investigation identified a matryoshka doll-like system of more than 100 bots or semi-automated accounts, links between the cyber army and opposition parties, as well as the military and details of 103 cases of brutal “bounty hunting”, according to The Guardian.
Members of the cyber-jihadist network have also been accused of publishing private information on other users’ accounts from different ethnic backgrounds.
Written by Leah Alger
