Several Facebook pages have circulated links to news reports in which investigative journalist Malou Mangahas supposedly uncovered investment platforms secretly used by celebrities. These are fake.
Starting Aug. 4, at least two FB pages posted links to websites imitating ABS-CBN News. It carried Mangahas’ “report” that GMA News TV allegedly “refused to air.” (Mangahas used to be editor-in-chief of GMANews.tv, which later became GMA News Online.)
VERA Files Fact Check has flagged two of these fake articles, which bore the headlines:
- “EXPOSED: Malou Mangahas vs. GMA News TV – Why was the scandalous episode of ‘Investigative Documentaries’ destroyed?”
- “They Forced Us to Destroy All Materials”: An Exclusive Interview with Malou Mangahas on ‘Investigative Documentaries'”
The links posted on FB also carried thumbnails made to look like quote cards from ABS-CBN News and used Mangahas’ photos.
These are fake. Mangahas, ABS-CBN News and GMA News have all disowned the circulating reports.
No such report from Investigative Documentaries
The fabricated reports claimed that Mangahas and her team at “Investigative Documentaries,” a GMA News TV program, had uncovered investment platforms hidden from the public. The fake reports alleged that GMA News TV banned them from revealing the truth that could change “the lives of Filipinos.”
In an Aug. 8 message to VERA Files, Mangahas said the report is “an investment scam disguised as a journalistic report.”
“This report is absolutely, totally false. I do not have anything to do with it,” Mangahas added.
She also clarified that “Investigative Documentaries” last episode aired in 2020 and no episodes have been censored.
“For the record, none of our 500 episodes had been censored. Instead, we have received dozens of awards for our reports on political dynasties, social justice issues, human rights, culture, education, among other issues,” Mangahas said.
Fabricated reports from impostor websites
The hoax reports were posted on websites that deceptively look like ABS-CBN but have a tell-tale sign that they are impostors: They have random domain names like intelligentcaterpillar.info, badgeletterstream.com and crayongarlicprogress.com. All three domains were newly registered between July 21 and Aug. 7.
ABS-CBN News’ official website can be found at abs-cbn.com.
The media organization published an article on Aug. 6 debunking the fake report and quote cards. A day earlier, GMA News also issued an advisory against similar reports featuring Mangahas.
This is not the first time that VERA Files debunked fake ads for investment platforms that used the same modus operandi of creating bogus websites, imitating news organizations and using the likeness of a public figure to “expose” something supposedly hidden from the public.
Aside from these tactics, they also:
- Create a false urgency and exclusivity to spark curiosity and interest from netizens, and
- Make grand promises of an instant income with only small investments.
In this specific case, they invited Filipinos to invest P14,000 with an unbelievable monthly return of P200,000.
Investment platforms not SEC-registered
The supposed investment platforms mentioned in the fake reports – Glumbic Pluck and Neon Qub – are not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A quick search of the platforms’ names in SEC’s verification portal did not show any records, unlike legitimate investment platforms.
The SEC has posted several advisories about fraudulent investment opportunities impersonating public figures such as financial experts, celebrities, journalists and government officials.
The fake reports started circulating the same day the SEC warned Filipinos about unregistered crypto entities and online platforms.
The FB page Kollektiv Ost (created on Dec. 13, 2009 as KollektivOst) has uploaded 12 sponsored posts carrying links to one of the fake reports. A FB post by the page Cafe com Glitter by Rheins (created on Oct. 17, 2012) also garnered 57 interactions. Both pages are managed by people located in foreign countries such as Vietnam, Brazil and Germany.
