A fake quote card attributed to Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, where she allegedly advised people to avoid negative campaigning, is circulating on Facebook (FB).
The fabricated graphic used a logo of CNN International to look more credible, and attributed to Wurtzbach the remarks below, which were rife with grammatical errors:
“Don’t just believe in negative campaigns, i really do believe that if your heart is pure and ready to serve our country towards a better future then all you gonna do is to promote yourself and not by destroying figures of your co-candidate it may look desperate.
I do believe that people who does negative campaigning is really on pressure and threatened because he/she is behind by the other candidate (sic).”
CNN has published no such quote card.
Wurtzbach denied uttering the made-up quote in a March 28 tweet and called it “fake news.”
“Hello po! I did not say this. Let us not spread fake news. Don’t believe all quotes that you see online,” Wurtzbach wrote on Twitter in response to a netizen who asked her about the circulating social media card.
The beauty queen elaborated in a March 29 FB post: “Hindi po galing sa CNN yan at lalong hindi ko ako ganyan mag english (That’s not from CNN and besides, I don’t speak English like that).”
In another tweet, she encouraged the public to fact-check: “Let’s always be mindful of what we share. Double check our sources, triple check if needed. No to fake news!”
Three FB pages expressing support for the tandem of presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and running mate Sara Duterte-Carpio posted on March 28 the fake quote card: SAGO TEAM SOLID UNITEAM (created on Jan. 28) , Team MARCOS (created on Jan. 11, 2018), and Inday Sara Supporters (created on June 4, 2020). The three FB posts garnered over 16,200 interactions collectively.
These posts appeared a day after Marcos supporters accused former election commissioner Rowena Guanzon of “negative campaigning” after she delivered a message calling Marcos a thief and a non-graduate during a pro-Robredo rally.
Marcos said during a Jan. 25 interview with television show host Boy Abunda that he does not believe or engage in negative campaigning.
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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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