A fake quote card that circulated online claimed fictional comic and movie character Nicholas “Nick” Fury played by a famous American actor praised former president Rodrigo Duterte.
A Facebook (FB) netizen asked VERA Files Fact Check to verify this claim. (Send us posts to fact check on our Messenger tip line!)
Nicholas “Nick” Fury is a character in Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, who leads a fictitious espionage organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. He is played by American actor Samuel L. Jackson.
The fake quote card, which appeared on TikTok and Facebook (FB), claims that “Nicholas Fury,” a former senator from Liberty City in Florida, and incoming S.H.I.E.L.D. Director, said:
“Philippine congressmen should be ashamed of themselves. Mr duterte has done so many for his country. To be prosecuted by your own people for fighting the criminality is avengers-level threat. For my opinion, mr. Duterte is the bestest president in the solar system alongside with president-elect [Donald] Trump (sic).”
There is no proof showing that Jackson — as himself or as Fury — praised Duterte, according to cursory search and posts from the actor’s social media pages.
Reverse image search revealed that the photo of Samuel L. Jackson in the fake quote card first appeared in a Los Angeles article dated Feb. 18, 2017.
The made-up graphic appeared two days after Duterte attended the House quad-committee hearing on his campaign against illegal drugs where he said those killed in his drug war deserved to die.
TikTok users @gleevan27 and @77filipinoako uploaded the graphic, which garnered over 1.37 million interactions.
FB pages Die Hard Rodrigo Roa Duterte Fans (created on Oct. 25, 2020), President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Achievements (created on Dec. 10, 2016), and Miss Lovends Vlog (created on Feb. 8, 2022) also reposted the fake quote card, garnering over 3,886 reactions, 802 comments, and 1,602 shares.
