Netizens reshared four posts in December claiming that former anti-insurgency task force spokesperson Lorraine Badoy was in critical condition due to a stroke. The claim is satirical.
The infographic was shared by netizens despite the disclaimer on the upper left corner that read: “HINDI TOTOO, PERO SANA TOTOO NA LANG (Not true, but we wish it was true).
“Sabi ng mga stupid na komunista, nagka-stroke daw ako (The stupid communists said I had a stroke)… How does the CPP [Communist Party of the Philippines] benefit from putting out a meme that’s easily verifiable,” Badoy said in a Dec. 14 Facebook (FB) post
The posts, dated Dec. 14 and 25 last year, appeared after the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 306 fined Badoy and self-confessed rebel Jeffrey Celiz P2.07 million in damages for red-tagging broadcast journalist Atom Araullo and his mother, activist Carol Araullo.
An FB user sent the post to VERA Files’ Misinformation Tip Line on FB Messenger for verification.
Cursory search shows that the infographic came from a Dec. 14 post made by an administrator of the public FB group House of Representatives – Butasang Pambansa (HORBP).
Rule 4 of HORBP’s page instructs netizens to include a disclaimer on satirical posts: “Satire tayo dito, hindi fake news peddlers (We do satire here, we’re not fake news peddlers).
READ: VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Queen Elizabeth II congratulating Marcos on presidential win a SATIRE
Despite the disclaimer, at least three Facebook posts and one YouTube video circulated the claim about Badoy’s alleged medical condition as true, leading people to question its veracity.
“Woow Good News Good News,” a netizen on FB commented. “Karma ‘yan sa mga taong kumakampi sa masama (That’s karma for people who ally with evil),” a YouTube user said. “Again? Is this recent,” another FB user asked.
The posts by FB user Budol Budol Man (created in 2021), FB pages Naloko Na (April 15, 2022), Rizaleño (created on Nov. 4, 2021), and YouTube channel Alicia Comments (Nov. 28, 2021) garnered 8,198 reactions, 2,536 comments, 404 shares, and 70,918 YouTube views.
