Netizens are circulating a graphic claiming that the gatherings for the 80th birthday of former president Rodrigo Duterte on March 28 received a Guinness World Record and that the Vatican has urged the United Nations (U.N.) to have him released from the International Criminal Court. Both claims are untrue.
On April 3, a TikTok user posted the “breaking news” bearing supposed images of Duterte in an orange shirt and what looks like a pope wearing a white skullcap. These images were superimposed on a photo of a crowd, most of whom were wearing green, the campaign color associated with Vice President Sara Duterte.
The headline below the Guinness World Records logo read:
“Guinness World Records Honors DDS 80th Birthday Rally as Largest Ever! Vatican Cardinals Urge UN to Free Duterte from ICC.”
These are false. While organizers of the Duterte birthday rallies aimed for a Guinness World Record for the “simultaneous gathering of people celebrating an event all over the world,” there are no reports of such recognition of the events from the award-giving body. Nowhere does it appear on the Guinness website’s list of record titles.
It is also not true that Vatican cardinals called on the U.N. to release the former president, who has been detained since March 12 at the ICC detention facility in Scheveningen, The Hague. The ICC is an “independent judicial body distinct from the U.N.”
In contrast, the Vatican News released a report about Filipino bishops welcoming Duterte’s arrest, describing it as a step toward accountability. The Vatican News is the official publication of the Holy See – the Catholic Church and the Vatican City State’s governing body.
The graphic itself bore the text “www.fakenewstonaniwalakapadintangakatalaga.com,” which translates to “This is fake news yet you still believed. You are truly dumb.”
Several netizens failed to recognize the disclaimer in smaller font while some deliberately covered or cropped the text.
The graphic circulated six days after Duterte supporters organized rallies in the Philippines and in The Hague to celebrate his birthday. The former president was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on March 11 upon arrival from a trip to Hong Kong, He was taken to the Netherlands hours later to face trial for crimes against humanity before the ICC in connection with his bloody drug war during his presidency.
VERA Files has seen a rise in mis- and disinformation related to Duterte’s ICC case since his arrest.
The post by the TikTok user @widseaaaa, with its display picture bearing the text “PH News,” garnered 34,800 reactions, 1,909 comments, 2,161 shares and 385,000 views. Twelve other reposts by FB users and pages such as Inday Davao (created on April 12, 2016) and Stand with PRRD – Rizal (created on Nov. 11, 2021 as BBM for President 2022 Antipolo City Chapter) collectively garnered 1086 reactions, 156 comments and 576 shares.
