An online post carrying fake quotes attributed to the late President Ferdinand Marcos, the late Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago and former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile warning against crossing the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) made the rounds on the web.
Pro-INC Facebook page Ang Pagbubunyag ng Katotohananpublished on May 14 an image splicing together photos of the three politicians, which bore the caption:
“‘Huwag mong gigisingin ang Higanteng natutulog [INC ang tinutukoy](Don’t wake up the sleeping Giant [Referring to INC]).’
– Former President Ferdinand E. Marcos‘Huwag mong pakialaman ang kaisahan ng Iglesia Ni Cristo (Don’t mess with the unity of Iglesia Ni Cristo).’
– Former Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago‘Kung gusto mong gumulo ang buhay mo, guluhin mo ang Iglesia Ni Cristo (If you want to mess up your life, mess with the Iglesia Ni Cristo).’
– Former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile”
No official records reflect Marcos, Enrile and Defensor-Santiago having made such statements about the independent Christian organization.
A cursory search of the quotes only turn up tweets and Facebook posts made by netizens a few days after Ang Pagbubunyag ng Katotohanan published its fabricated post.
The fake online post, which continues to make the rounds on social media, was published a day after the midterm elections. The homegrown INC, known for its bloc voting, had endorsed a Senatorial slate made up mostly of candidates backed by the administration.
The fabricated post has been shared over 2,700 times and could have reached over 457,000 people, with traffic from social media largely coming from the originating page itself and MARCOS LOYALIST.
Ang Pagbubunyag ng Katotohananwas created Sept. 22, 2015.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
