After a recent survey by OCTA Research showed that President Ferdinand Marcos had a higher performance rating than Vice President Sara Duterte, multiple pro-Duterte pages circulated photos claiming that an Australian ambassador paid her a visit instead of Marcos. The posts are false. A closer inspection reveals they were also clickbait posts designed to generate revenue.
On April 28, an FB page published a set of five images of Duterte with the supposed Australian diplomat. The post carried a caption with altered characters to intentionally misspell some words. This is a common tactic to prevent online content from being detected by platforms, fact-checkers, and content moderators. The caption read:
“AUSTRALIAN AMBASSAD0R (sic) visited VP Sarà (sic) and not the President€ (sic)?… See more.”
At least two other pages reposted the photo set and the accompanying caption the next day and on May 1.
The official in the photo is not the Australian ambassador but former Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian.
The photos used in the posts were originally published by Duterte’s official FB page on Oct. 8, 2025, after Huang visited the Office of the Vice President a week before for a farewell meeting.
Aside from spreading incorrect information, the three posts actually used the photo set as a thumbnail to disguise affiliate links, one for selling fertilizer, another for hair shampoo, and the third for wireless earphones on Lazada. Affiliate links allow online shops to track purchases referred through a partner’s post. For every reader who clicks the link and buys the product, the account earns a commission.
The post surfaced concurrently with the House of Representatives’ hearings on the impeachment complaint against the vice president. On May 4, the Committee on Justice unanimously approved its report which found probable cause to impeach Duterte. The report, along with the Articles of Impeachment, will be transmitted to the House plenary for voting by lawmakers.
Published by FB pages Kitty Daughterte (created Oct. 7, 2023), Tatak Duterte (created April 25, 2025), and Kitty Veronica (created May 2, 2022), the false posts collectively amassed 4,300 reactions; 208 comments; and 156 shares.
