A viral quote card is circulating online claiming that Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) General Manager Nicolas Torre III said he is ready to pick up and drag Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg if he fails to attend the summons of congress. This is fake.
On Sept. 26, an FB user posted the quote card, which bore the photo of Torre and Zuckerberg with the statement attributed to the former police chief:
“Handa akong sunduin at kaladkarin si Mark Zuckerberg kung sakaling hindi sya dadalo
sa patawag ng Kongreso
GENERAL NICOLAS TORRE III
(Former PNP Chief)
(I am willing to personally pick up and drag Mark Zuckerberg if he does not attend the congress probe).”
In a Facebook post on Sept. 27, Torre belied the statement saying, “Hindi ko sinabi na ‘susunduin at kaladkarin’ ko si Mark Zuckerberg. Pekeng quote iyan na ikinakabit sa pangalan at larawan ko (I did not say that I would ‘pick up and drag’ Mark Zuckerberg. That is a fake quote being attached to my name and photo).”
The MMDA GM on-leave said while he would have wanted to keep quiet, he needed to set the record straight before more people believed it. Correcting the lie, he said, was the first step. If it continues to spread, he would consider taking appropriate next steps.
Torre said he was able to save the original post and the details of the account who posted the fake statement. He reminded online users to verify the source first, prior to sharing.
The House of Representatives and Department of Information and Communications Technology both clarified that there are no official summons or invitations for Zuckerberg to attend the congressional inquiry.
The fake post surfaced amid proposals to ban Facebook and other platforms under Meta due to safety protocol issues and harmful content.
As of writing, the graphic published by FB page Glemat’z Guinit Maata (created Aug. 27, 2015) garnered 3,800 reactions; 1,200 comments; and 58 shares. The account has over 7,800 followers.
