A video circulating on Facebook and TikTok claims to show live footage of former president Rodrigo Duterte supposedly being released from the custody of the International Criminal Court. This is false.
The clip was taken on March 13 when Duterte arrived at the ICC’s Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, Netherlands after being arrested over charges of crimes against humanity.
Duterte remains in detention. His application for interim release is still being assessed by the Court.
Published on Sept. 23, the 80-second clip – a video recording of footage playing on an external monitor – shows a crowd gathering and waiting outside the prison. The crowd can be heard repeatedly chanting “Duterte!” as a convoy of two black SUVs entered the prison’s gates.
The erroneous clip included a superimposed text that read:
“Breaking News!!! Live Official Released of our Tatay Digong from ICC.“
In their caption, one FB user also wrote:
A combination of reverse image, keyword searches and a comparison of the video with other clips revealed that the footage was taken when Duterte arrived at the ICC’s detention facility after his arrest in Manila on March 13.
That day, local media outlets Rappler, ABS-CBN, and The Manila Times uploaded on YouTube footage of Duterte’s arrival at the prison. The title and description of the videos all state that it shows his supporters gathering outside the Scheveningen Prison awaiting his arrival.
A comparison of the circulating false videos with footage from media organizations of Duterte’s arrival places the same people, wearing the same clothes, and doing the same actions, confirming that both indeed show the same event. The same convoy could also be seen in the videos.
Note: Move through the slideshow to view our comparison.
The false video surfaced after the ICC prosecution formally charged Duterte with three counts of murder related to his bloody war on drugs campaign that resulted in the deaths of at least 76 people.
In a 15-page redacted document published on Sept. 22, the ICC alleged that Duterte was individually “criminally responsible” for the murder of 19 victims during his time as Davao City mayor from 2013 to 2016, the murder of 14 high-value targets between 2016 and 2017 during his presidency, and the murder and attempted murder of 45 victims (43 of whom died) during his presidency from 2016 to 2018.
Posted by a Facebook user, the false video has so far garnered almost a million views, 12,600 reactions, 2,400 comments, and 1,600 shares as of writing. Another copy on Facebook received 560,000 views, 1,600 shares, and 1,200 comments. The erroneous clip was also shared on TikTok with 694,000 views, 22,300 reactions, 1,623 comments, and 1,687 shares.
