Christmas mass celebration footage falsely linked to Pope's Indonesia trip

A video from 2023 showing a nighttime mass to celebrate Christmas in Indonesia's capital Jakarta has resurfaced in social media posts that falsely portrayed it as an event held to mark Pope Francis' visit to the Muslim-majority archipelago. The claim circulated online days before the pontiff held mass at Jakarta's Gelora Bung Karno football stadium on September 5.

"Catholic Mass with Pope Francis at GBK," read the Indonesian-language text overlay to the video shared on TikTok on September 3, 2024 using the acronym for the football stadium.

It was shared days before Pope Francis held mass in the Indonesian capital.

The Catholic church leader visited the Muslim-majority archipelago from September 3 to 6, where he also met religious leaders at Southeast Asia's biggest mosque.

After Indonesia, he was set to visit Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore in the longest tour of the 87-year-old's papacy.

Similar claims about the video were also shared on the SnackVideo platform and on Instagram.

Comments on the posts indicated some people believed the video showed the mass held by Francis in Jakarta.

"I was moved to tears. Welcome to Indonesia, Sir," said one user.

"Amazing. I was moved and shivered just to look at it," said another user.

Christmas celebration

Keyword searches on Google found the circulating video corresponded with an earlier clip here of a mass held at the football stadium to celebrate Christmas in 2023 (archived link here).

The annual event features several recognisable elements, including Christmas tree lights near the stage, the stage itself, and building lights in the background.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the TikTok video of the Christmas celebration (right):

The same event was covered local media Metro TV (archived link). Footage taken from inside the stadium generally corresponds with the video circulating in false posts online, as shown below:

The Mass attended by Pope Francis at GBK was held in the late afternoon until evening for two hours. There was no large-scale candle lighting during the celebration.

The stadium's central part, the football field, was also not used for the event.

Catholics represent fewer than three percent of the archipelago's population -- about eight million people, compared with the 87 percent, or 242 million, who are Muslim.

But they are one of six officially recognised religions or denominations in the nominally secular nation, including Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism.

AFP has previously debunked false claims about the pope's visit to Indonesia.