A YouTube video claimed in its headline and thumbnail that China blew up 100 Philippine fishing vessels near Scarborough Shoal. This is clickbait.
Posted on May 22, the eight-minute, seven-second video carried this erroneous headline:
“Brutally! 100 Philippine Fishing Boat Blow up by China Navy near Scarborough Shoal.”
The video thumbnail shows a supposed Philippine fishing vessel in flames.
This is false. No such incident has happened. The video only carried a report about the civilian-led convoy to the Scarborough Shoal on May 15.
The YouTube video just narrated a TIME Magazine report about the Atin Ito Coalition’s convoy in Scarborough Shoal, which is also being claimed by China.
Five commercial fishing vessels and 100 smaller fishing boats, carrying around 200 volunteers including crew and members of the media, joined the convoy. While the presence of Chinese vessels was monitored during the event, no Philippine boats were sunk. (Read Atin Ito convoy reaches fishermen near Bajo de Masinloc under watchful eye of China’s Coast Guard)
The Philippine flag in the thumbnail was edited. Uploaded on Getty Images, the original photo shows an illegal fishing boat sunk by the Indonesian Navy in North Sumatra on Feb. 22, 2016.
The video was posted a week after the convoy reached the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal and distributed fuel and food packs to Filipino fishers there.
On April 30, China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels again harassed, blocked, water cannoned, and rammed vessels of the Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in a humanitarian mission to Filipino fishing boats in the shoal.
The video uploaded by the YouTube channel AMERICAN FUTURE (created on March 23, 2017) garnered 10,351 views. This channel has a history of posting false claims related to the territorial dispute. (Read Video FALSELY claims US, PH jets dropped bombs over Scarborough Shoal)
VERA Files Fact Check has monitored a rise in disinformation related to the ongoing dispute between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea. (Read PH, US, Australia did NOT sink Chinese ship)
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