A story claiming the camp of Vice President Leni Robredo has filed a petition before the Supreme Court to have her rival, former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., undergo a DNA test to prove he is the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos was published April 13 by bopols.com, a satirical news site created in 2009.
The story used a video of Marcos telling a joke about his supposed false identity as the son of the former president.
It was posted a day after the vice presidential vote recount began amid allegations of poll fraud. Marcos filed a petition in June 2016 contesting Robredo’s win.
The biggest traffic generators on social media are Marcos Defenders Worldwide Unlimited and Protectors of Our Beloved President Digong, and could have reached more than 200,000 people.
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(Guided by the code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, VERA Files tracks the false claims, flip-flops, misleading statements of public officials and figures, and debunks them with factual evidence. Find out more about this initiative and our methodology.)
