Over 110 Facebook (FB) posts and nearly 50 articles circulated online from May 23 to June 5 bearing the news that actor Luis Manzano has passed away. These are all fake.
On his FB page, Manzano addressed the death hoaxes targeting him. He wrote on May 29: “Update po, buhay na buhay po ako (I am very much alive).”
He has also posted several FB Live videos, most recently on June 5 and June 7, to show proof of life.
VERA Files Fact Check has found the website celebtoday24h.com to be the source of the death hoaxes spreading on FB, with its articles being shared by dozens of FB pages. The site has published 48 stories from May 23 to 31 about Manzano’s “death,” which carried fake headlines and edited images made to look like he was dead.
The headlines bore fabricated and clickbait narratives: including that his father Edu killed him, that his mother Vilma Santos and wife, actress Jessy Mendiola, both collapsed out of grief, and that several friends of his in the entertainment industry such as Vice Ganda and Alex Gonzaga mourned his death.
Celebtoday24h.com’s first story on Manzano’s death bore the title:
“SHOCKING NEWS: LUIS MANZANO HAS PASSED AWAY FOR GOOD! JESSY MENDIOLA COLLAPSES IN TEARS OVER HER HUSBAND’S FATE!/th.”
Meanwhile, on FB, dozens of FB pages reposted celebtoday24h.com‘s headlines and images. Among those that repeatedly posted the hoaxes were FB page Filipina Glitz (created Aug. 24, 2024), Pinoy Trend Spot (Nov. 25, 2024), and Magsasaka Mabuhay Ka (created July 18, 2017). Their most popular posts on the Manzano death hoax received 9.4k, 7.9k and 4k reactions, respectively.
Manzano made headlines in May after he lost the Batangas gubernatorial race in the May 12 midterm elections.
