Website pinoynews.info published May 3 a misleading story claiming Vice President Leni Robredo “went wild” over news that she has lost over 21,000 votes in the ongoing vice presidential electoral recount.
Reacting to the information that was reported by The Philippine Star earlier that day, Robredo took to Twitter and called the report “fake news.” The pinoynews.info post merely carried a 10-minute clip of political analyst Antonio Contreras commenting on Robredo’s reaction, rendering this headline misleading: “LENI ROBREDO NAG-WALA DAH1L LAMANG NA SI BONGBONG MARCOS SA RECOUNT! PANOORIN (Leni Robredo went wild because Bongbong Marcos now leads the recount! Watch).” The clip was lifted from a 30-minute Facebook Live video of Contreras.
The story was posted the same day The Philippine Star, citing unnamed sources, tweeted the developments in the vote recount between Robredo and former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos. In her tweet, Robredo also called the news “propaganda meant to condition the minds of the people,” saying the claim a week earlier is that she had lost 5,000 votes. Marcos filed an electoral protest June 2016 contesting Robredo’s narrow win by over 263,000 votes.
Pinoynews.info was created April 27, while Youtube channel PagBabago Ng Pinas – which uploaded the Contreras clip – was made in March 2017. The story’s biggest traffic generators on social media are President Duterte Worldwide Supporters, President Duterte Astig Supporters and President Duterte Loyal Supporters, and could have reached over 2.9 million people.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
