A fake graphic that shows President Rodrigo Duterte telling his supporters not to vote for presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is making the rounds on Facebook (FB).
The fabricated quote card carried a remark the president supposedly made during a Nov. 14 exclusive interview with pro-Duterte vlogger Byron Cristobal, who goes by the name Banat By on social media. It featured a photo of Duterte next to a statement that read:
“Kung totoong nirerespeto nyo ako, di nyo iboboto si Bongbong dahil sinungaling yan at magnanakaw ang pamilya nya (If you truly respect me, you wouldn’t vote for Bongbong because he’s a liar and his family are thieves).”
Duterte did not make that remark during the interview.
Cristobal—who has spread disinformation in the past—also denounced the fake quote card on his FB page on Nov. 15, the same day the made-up graphic first surfaced.
Duterte did not discourage Filipinos from voting for Marcos but he did say in the interview that he will not back his presidential bid because he and Vice President Leni Robredo, who is also eyeing the top post, are “pro-communists.”
He affirmed his support for his former aide, Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, who is also running for president.
The fake graphic was posted by Idiots in Government (created on Nov. 24, 2019), an FB page that posts content critical of the government, and the satirical page T*ngin* This! (July 1, 2011). Their posts have garnered a combined total of about 2,900 reactions, 640 comments and 1,090 shares.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
