Youtube channel Showbiz Fanaticz, which has a history of publishing disinformation, falsely claimed that actress Heart Evangelista took a swipe at the “publicized” typhoon relief efforts of Vice President Leni Robredo and other public figures.
The artist’s Nov. 15 tweet, “Camera doesn’t need to be ‘on’ for you to help,” was not made in reference to Robredo or to other “public officials and TV personalities” who supposedly post about their relief efforts on social media, as Showbiz Fanaticz claimed in its Nov. 17 video.
It was actually a reply to a Twitter user that day who asked whether Evangelista has done anything to help victims of typhoons that recently ravaged the country.
Camera doesn’t need to be “on” for you to help . https://t.co/xqiy6XV3JE
— LoveMarie O. Escudero (@heart021485) November 15, 2020
“Sorry di ko ata nakita pero nagbukas na ba ng wallet si Heart Evangelista? La lang cure use (sic) lang (Sorry, I might not have seen it, but has Heart Evangelista opened her wallet? No reason. Just curious),” the netizen had written in her now-deleted tweet.
Evangelista’s reply was reported by several entertainment outlets.
Showbiz Fanaticz published its video with the false headline: “ITO ANG NAKAKAGULAT: HEART EVANGELISTA SINUPALPAL SI ROBREDO MATAPOS TUMULONG NG MAY DALANG MEDIA (This is shocking: Heart Evangelista shoots down Robredo who gave help while bringing media along)!?!”
The vice-president issued a Fake News Alert on Nov. 20 to correct the post that said she takes along the media, including a director, in her travels. The photo in the video was taken in a mental health facility and the person leading the group was a nurse, she said. The image was also from 2018, published by the Philippine Information Agency in Cebu.
Several sites—kidstva (kidstva.com), Instant Feed (instantfeed.net), Pinoy Trending Portal (pinoytrendingportal.com)—and at least two Facebook (FB) pages, News Viral Online and Top News Online, have shared the false video, which helped catapult its virality.
Showbiz Fanaticz’s false post surfaced as Robredo went to Cagayan, Marikina and her homeland Bicol this month to give assistance to families and individuals affected by typhoons Ulysses and Rolly.
In an episode of television talk show The Chiefs aired on Nov. 20, Robredo debunked claims that her office has “media following [them] around.”
“We need to show our donors that we’re spending their money based on their intentions, when they donated whether it’s money or their goods to us. Sa amin napaka importante na well-documented lahat (To us, it is very important that everything is well-documented),” she said.
Showbiz Fanaticz’s untrue video has been viewed over 233,000 times. News Viral Online’s version has more than 273,000 views, while Top News Online’s copy, at least 27,000 views.
News Viral Online and Top News Online are both newly created FB pages; the former on Oct. 1 and the latter last Sept 25. Kidstva was created on Oct. 7, 2018; Instant Feed on March 16; and Pinoy Trending Portal on Nov. 15, 2019.
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