Double marriage ceremony misconstrued as 'same-sex wedding in Indonesia'

Footage of two grooms waiting for their brides at a double wedding ceremony was viewed tens of thousands of times in social media posts that falsely claimed it showed the pair getting married in Indonesia, where gay marriage is not allowed. The religious affairs ministry in Wonosobo, where the wedding took place, confirmed the video showed two men preparing to tie the knot with sisters.

"God forgive me.. same sex marriage..," read Indonesian text overlaid on a TikTok video with more than 92,000 views.

A man narrating the video says it shows a gay couple exchanging their wedding vows at an "official same-sex marriage" in Wonosobo in Indonesia's Central Java province on May 11.

The video was posted on May 16, shortly before Indonesia's religious affairs ministry nullified a marriage initially believed to be between a man and a woman -- but which turned out to be between two men (archived link). 

The ministry said the marriage was invalid because same-sex marriage was "not allowed in Islamic culture and religion."

Another same-sex wedding ceremony was stopped by police in Wonosobo in 2016 (archived link). 

Homosexuality is not outlawed in Indonesia except in conservative Aceh province, which adheres to strict Islamic laws.

But gay couples often face persecution and discrimination in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, where homosexuality remains taboo.

The video was shared in similar posts on SnackVideo and TikTok. 

Some social media users appeared to believe the footage showed a gay wedding.

"Oh my God, how could this happen?" one commented.

"Isn't this dangerous (?)," another wrote.

Double wedding

Keyword searches on Google found a YouTube video from the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Wonosobo clarifying that the footage showed a double wedding (archived link).

Ministry representatives identified as Ahmad Fuadi and Panut and the wedding officiant Ahmad Soleh said the video showed two men Zidan Yusron Wijanarko and Afan Muhajid and their brides -- who are sisters -- Harum Nurin Setyawening and Nahriyati Sri Febiningsih.

"The implementation of the marriage contract is carried out in accordance with statutory regulations...with the presence of a prospective groom and a prospective bride," Soleh said.

"It was done twice because of the siblings situation."

While AFP could not trace the exact clip circulating online, keyword searches found a video of the wedding highlights on the Instagram page of the wedding organiser (archived link).

The video shows the two grooms sitting next to each other.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video shared in a false TikTok post and a similar video posted by the wedding organiser.

Keyword searches on Instagram also found a clip on one of the brides' accounts, which show the couples posing in their wedding attire (archived link).

Indonesia's law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

June 14, 2024 This story was amended to clarify that a TikTok post sharing the false claim was published on May 16, not May 29 as previously stated.