A fake quote card bearing GMA News’ logo erroneously claimed that former Gilas Pilipinas head coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes chastised Filipinos for being more upset with him than government officials who failed their campaign promises.
Posted on Facebook (FB) last Sept. 2, two days after the Philippine national basketball team lost to South Sudan in the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila, the bogus graphic read:
“Kung magalit kayo sa akin parang ako yung nangako ng 3-6 months at P20 per kilo ng bigas (You’re angry with me as if I’m the one who promised three to six months and P20 per kilo of rice).”
In a Sept. 4 Instagram post, Reyes denied that he delivered such a remark:
“Fake news alert: I never said this!”
Source: Chot Reyes (@coachot) Instagram post, Sept. 4, 2023
GMA Sports PH also clarified that the quote card was fake and not theirs.
“The public is advised to beware of images that are manipulated and maliciously misrepresent original content by GMA Integrated News and GMA Sports,” the organization said.
The fabricated quote card altered one that was originally published by GMA Sports PH on Aug. 30 after Gilas Pilipinas lost to Italy.
Several netizens believed that Reyes actually made the remark based on the post’s comments. The author edited the post a day later to include the caption: “Huwag seryoso sa meme (Don’t be serious with a meme).” By that time, however, the original post had already received around 200,000 reactions.
The promises being alluded to in the fake quote could be attributed to the campaign promises of former president Rodrigo Duterte who pledged to rid the country of illegal drugs within three to six months, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who declared to reduce rice prices to P20 to P30 per kilo.
Reyes caught the ire of netizens after Gilas Pilipinas lost four consecutive matches in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, which crushed the country’s chance of outright qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The national team has another shot for an Olympic berth through the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament where the four best teams would get a ticket to Paris.
Reyes earlier announced that he will step down as head coach of Gilas Pilipinas after the World Cup.
Uploaded by FB page Paguiruan Truth Warriors (created Oct. 10, 2021 initially as Paguiruan for Leni), the fake quote card has so far amassed 354,000 interactions, 41,000 shares and 26,000 comments.
A user from X (formerly Twitter) also uploaded the bogus graphic on Sept. 3 which received 200,000 views, 6,422 likes, 1,183 reposts and 212 quotes.
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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.)
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