Site Nhatkimanh (philip.nhatkimanh.vn) published a story on May 19 falsely claiming in its headline that ABS-CBN said Filipinos could go insane not being able to watch the station’s programs following the network’s shutdown.
The report’s headline, “ABS CBN sinabing pwedeng masira ang Pag iisip ng mga Pilipino sa pagkawala ng Palabas sa Kapamilya ‘Baka Mabaliw sila!’ (ABS-CBN said Filipinos could lose their minds with the absence of Kapamilya shows ‘They might go crazy!’),” is misleading.
The site published its inaccurate report a day after ABS-CBN filed a petition for a temporary restraining order with the Supreme Court on May 18. It quoted parts of the network’s urgent motion against the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)’s May 5 cease and desist order.
In its headline, Nhatkimanh twisted this quote below from ABS-CBN’s petition where it said the shutdown of its 42 television stations, 23 radio stations and 10 digital channels deprived their avid fans of their “source of leisure and enjoyment”:
“Under the extended quarantine conditions, Filipinos are literally in prison within their homes and are unable to go out. Such difficulty will surely add emotional and mental stress that is detrimental to their well-being.”
Nhatkimanh appears to also have copied its content from a report published a day earlier by website pinoytrends.net.
Nhatkimanh has been actively publishing stories since March 3, 2020. The site curiously has a Vietnamese domain extension (.vn) and its first story was written in Vietnamese. Its inaccurate report could have reached 230,000 online readers, according to social media monitoring platform Crowdtangle, with traffic largely coming from the group Philippines Reports.
This is not the first time the site has published misleading content. (See VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Netizens share MISLEADING story on PH securing seat on UN rights council)
The NTC ordered the halting of ABS-CBN’s broadcasting operations a day after the network’s 25-year legislative franchise expired on May 4. The House of Representatives’ Committee on Legislative Franchises began tackling the bills seeking ABS-CBN’s new franchise on May 26.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
