An April 20 story posted by goodnewsnetworkph.com claiming Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino said he will become the “voice and protector” of Filipinos misleads by making a loose translation of an already-translated quote.
The story, lifted from a Philippine Star report published the same day, bore the headline “Aquino, nawalan na raw ang Pinoy ng boses at di kaya ipaglaban ang kanilang Prinsipyo. Siya raw ang magiging Boses at Tagapagtanggol nila.”
The headline translates to Filipino a quote found in the original Philippine Star report, attributed to Aquino: “Many Filipinos have already lost their voice and cannot fight for their principles. The opposition is here to be their voice and defender.”
Yet the Philippine Star quote is already a translation of the original, found in a press release by Aquino, which reads: “Sa kasalukuyan, marami nang Pilipino ang nawalan ng boses at hindi na kayang ipaglaban ang kanilang paninindigan. Naririto ang oposisyon para maging tinig at tagapagtanggol nila.”
The misleading story was posted a day after Pulse Asia released the results of a 2019 senatorial election survey; Aquino was the only member of the opposition to make it to the top 12.
It could have reached more than 5.6 million people. Its biggest traffic generator on social media was Mocha Uson Blog, the Facebook page of Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Margaux “Mocha” Uson.
The Good News Network Philippines website was created November 2017.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
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