Photo via South China Morning Post

Indonesia’s Prabowo mulls labelling wildfires as ‘ecological terrorism’

Read the original at South China Morning Post ↗
Cite

Reuters. (2026, September 17). Indonesia’s Prabowo mulls labelling wildfires as ‘ecological terrorism’. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3367819/indonesias-prabowo-mulls-labelling-wildfires-ecological-terrorism?utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

South China Morning Post · collected 2026-09-17 · by Reuters

Quick Summary

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is considering classifying the slash-and-burn practices causing widespread wildfires as "ecological terrorism." The country faces its most severe wildfire crisis in 11 years, exacerbated by unusually dry weather due to a “super El Nino.” The fires on Borneo and Sumatra have led to hazardous air quality affecting Indonesia and neighboring countries like Singapore and Malaysia. At a cabinet meeting, Prabowo stated that there will be strict regulations and sanctions with zero tolerance for those responsible for starting the wildfires.
Written by AI on 2026-09-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is considering labeling individuals and companies who use slash-and-burn methods to clear land as "ecological terrorists" due to ongoing severe wildfires. These fires are the worst in 11 years, exacerbated by super El Nino weather conditions that have dried out forests and fields across Indonesia, particularly on Borneo and Sumatra. The resultant haze has led to a rise in respiratory illnesses within Indonesia and caused unhealthy air quality in neighboring countries like Singapore and Malaysia. At a cabinet meeting, Prabowo stated there will be zero tolerance for those responsible for starting these wildfires, indicating stricter regulations and sanctions are on the horizon.

Written for “Indonesian Wildfires Debate” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Indonesian Wildfires Debate
Environment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
5
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 5 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
62/100
South China Morning Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-17 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

South China Morning Post · 3775 article(s) · 8 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 8 correction(s)
2026-11-03
Singapore hit-and-run: organiser of fund for orphaned boy vows transparency
2026-11-01
Former Apple Daily publisher joins mainland China tour for rehabilitated offenders
2026-10-16
Nobel Peace Prize: the message behind Navi Pillay’s win
2026-10-16
Indonesian governor’s Singapore trip adds fury to forest fire, haze crisis
2026-10-04
Flight to Okinawa diverts back to Hong Kong after suspected landing gear fault
2026-10-04
Tennessee prisons chief resigning after botched execution of Christa Pike
2026-09-29
Indonesian prison chief suspended over secret VIP compound for inmates
2026-09-28
Trump ‘arms offer’ to China jolts Washington into moves to contain the fallout

Who wrote this

Reuters
890 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 LIV is expected to appear at a Thursday hearing in US bankruptcy court in Trenton, New Jersey, to discuss various contracts, leases and assets.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · LIV Golf thought it had a financial saviour. It’s just walked away
🔮 “I can tell you that as far as that war is concerned, I would have done nothing different,” Mr. Trump said.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · Trump says Republicans harmed by Iran war, inability to ‘transfer the love’ for him
🔮 The party of Nelson Mandela fell below 50% support for the first time in the 2021 municipal elections and could drop below 40% this time, according to polls.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · South Africa votes as ANC faces further losses and coalition rule looms
🔮 The patient is in a stable condition and is expected to arrive in Britain on Wednesday or Thursday before being transferred to a specialist ambulance to a high-consequence infectious disease unit, the document showed.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · British healthcare worker with Ebola to be evacuated from DRC to UK, document shows
🔮 The board did not discuss the size of any wage increase and will hold further meetings to determine the new pay structure, Babul Akter, the workers' representative on the board, said after its first meeting. "The new wage structure will be implemented from December, and workers will receive their first salaries under the revised pay scale in January," Mr. Akter said.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · Bangladesh agrees new garment pay scale from December amid protests
🔮 Democrats seized control of the US Congress on Wednesday, capturing the Senate and House of Representatives in a stunning, nationwide rejection of Donald Trump set to put the brakes on the final two years of his presidency.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · Democrats win US Congress in midterm rout of Trump
🔮 If Democrats can manage a net gain of at least two seats, they will lead a majority of states for the first time since 2010.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · Democrats make history in governor races; Hinojosa, Bottoms, Haaland win
🔮 Trump repeatedly favoured loyalists and ideological allies over more established Republicans with stronger statewide networks and proven electoral track records, betting that his endorsement could overcome their political liabilities.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · Trump hand-picked Senate candidates. Republicans paid the price
🔮 Democrats seized control of the US Congress on Wednesday, capturing the Senate and House of Representatives in a stunning, nationwide rejection of Donald Trump set to put the brakes on the final two years of his presidency.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · US midterms: Democrats win US Congress in midterm rout of Trump
🔮 Trump struck a conciliatory note despite his history of questioning election results, telling The New York Times: “I am absolutely willing to accept those results” and promising to “work with the Democrats”.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · US midterms: Democrats win Congress in major setback for Trump
Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
Also by Reuters
Nasa’s 22-year-old Swift satellite telescope falls from orbit in fiery finale
2026-11-04 · South China Morning Post
LIV Golf thought it had a financial saviour. It’s just walked away
2026-11-04 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Trump says Republicans harmed by Iran war, inability to ‘transfer the love’ for him
2026-11-04 · The Hindu
Ukraine's Zelenskyy awards U.S. first lady Melania state honour
2026-11-04 · The Hindu
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 890 articles by Reuters →

Topics

Borneo El Nino Indonesia Indonesian Sumatra

Subjects

Borneo GPE · 1× Indonesia GPE · 1× Indonesian NORP · 1× Malaysia GPE · 1× Prabowo PERSON · 1× Prabowo Subianto PERSON · 1× Singapore GPE · 1× Sumatra GPE · 1×

Narrative

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has called for stricter regulations and sanctions against those who use slash and burn methods to clear land, as the country struggles to contain wildfires that have been raging for weeks.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-17
🔮 Prabowo, in a meeting with his cabinet, said there will be zero tolerance for people or corporations found responsible for starting wildfires.
2026-09-17 · South China Morning Post
Indonesia’s Prabowo mulls labelling wildfires as ‘ecological terrorism’ · assertive framing

Claims (5 extracted, 0 hedged)

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has called for stricter regulations and sanctions against those who use slash and burn methods to clear land, as the country struggles to contain wildfires that have been raging for weeks. asserted
that → call → weeks
Indonesia is battling its most intense wildfires in 11 years, with “super El Nino” weather parching the country’s forests and fields. asserted
weather → battle → forests
The islands of Borneo and Sumatra have been the worst hit, with the hazardous haze causing a spike in respiratory illnesses. asserted
haze → hit → illnesses
Transboundary pollution has also caused unhealthy air conditions in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia. asserted
pollution → cause → Malaysia
Prabowo, in a meeting with his cabinet, said there will be zero tolerance for people or corporations found responsible for starting wildfires. asserted
Prabowo → say → wildfires
💬Give feedback · no sign-in needed

No sign-in needed for now. Your note is sent without a name, so it cannot be answered.

🕘History 🎫Support
Terms · Privacy · beta v2.0.0
Articles to 5 Nov 2026