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FACT CHECK

VERA FILES FACT CHECK: News of Rappler CEO Ressa as FOCAP president satirical

A Feb. 21 story of Adobo Chronicles claimed Rappler CEO Maria Ressa was elected president of the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of the Philippines.

Adobo Chronicles is a satirical new site created in 2013.

Rappler factchecked the story on April 13, saying the claim was untrue because “it is not a foreign media outlet and is not a member of FOCAP.”

Adobo Chronicles then responded in a statement and an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, explaining the entry it published months ago was a spoof, and should not be treated as real news.

The satirical piece was posted a day after Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Rappler would have to register with the FOCAP to continue covering Palace press briefings, pending the Court of Appeals’ decision on the news site’s supposed foreign ownership violations.

The biggest traffic generator: Al Jazeera English Correspondent Jamela Alindogan’s Twitter page

Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation.