Two days after the confirmation of charges hearing of former president Rodrigo Duterte began Feb. 23 at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, a photo has gone viral online showing relatives of drug war victims and a human rights defender supposedly carrying luxury handbags. This image is digitally altered.
On Feb. 25, a Facebook user, who was previously fact-checked by VERA Files for discrediting the victims of extrajudicial killings, uploaded the photo showing Rubilyn Litan from non-government Rise Up for Life and for Rights, along with Lore Pasco and Sheerah Escudero, who both lost relatives to Duterte’s drug war.
The image claimed that the three women were carrying expensive handbags, with prices overlaid on the photo.
In the caption, the user labeled the high-end brands of each bag and indicated their supposed prices in pesos and in US dollars. It partly stated:
“Akala ko ba mahirap ang mga biktima ng EJK ( kuno ) DAME PERA MAYAMAN? “IF” AUTHENTIC… ? BUT! Nasa europe eh! So bawal magdala ng fake don! Mukha at katawan lang pwede
(I thought the victims of EJK (so-called) were poor? They seem to have a lot of money, are they rich? ‘IF’ this is authentic…? BUT! They’re in Europe! You’re not allowed to bring fake items there! Only fake faces and bodies are allowed).”
The photo is edited. The original photo, published by ONE News on Feb. 22, shows none of the women was carrying any handbag.
In an advisory, ONE News debunked the circulating image and explained that the original photo was taken by one of their anchors during a press conference held by families and supporters of war on drugs victims, prior to Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing.
Some netizens claimed that the circulating image and the original photo were two separate shots, noting that the angle of the woman on the far right is different. However, visual inconsistencies confirm that the fake image is digitally altered, with the following indications:
- The moles on the left cheek and below the nose of the woman in the middle are missing.
- The upper lip mole of the woman on the right has disappeared.
- The shoulder bag of the woman on the left was erased.
- A patterned black and white object on the left side, originally set against a green background, now appears to be resting on a table.
- The forefinger of the woman in the middle is hard to distinguish from the thumb.
The spurious photo surfaced a day after the second hearing for the confirmation of charges against Duterte before the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, scheduled from Feb. 23 to 27, with a break on Feb. 25.
Published by FB user Cathy Binag, the erroneous photo has so far garnered 120,000 reactions; 28,100 comments; and 26,000 shares. At least three other FB users reposted the image.
