Website pinoyhopes.info published July 15 a false report with a headline that has Sen. Grace Poe admitting she is now “impressed” with President Rodrigo Duterte.
Bearing the headline “BREAKING NEWS! GRACE POE INAMING BILIB NA BILIB NA KAY DUTERTE (Breaking news! Grace Poe admits Duterte now impresses her),” the website skews a July 13 report by Radyo Pilipinas show News Nationwide, carrying an 11-minute clip from the hour-long newscast as its content.
While the report was indeed about a statement of praise Poe made that day, it was not for Duterte, but for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3), which she described as “although far from perfect” has “better service” now.
Pinoyhopes.info, created on April 13, published the false story the same day Poe said the Senate would not vote for the postponement of the May 2019 elections, which House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez proposed July 11 in light of efforts to shift the form of government to federalism.
Poe was one of Duterte’s rivals in the 2016 presidential election.
The false report could have reached more than 497,000 people, its top traffic generators from social media being Pres. Rody Duterte Worldwide Supporters, Pinoy Republic and Pres. Rody Duterte News Global. Youtube channel Tatay Duterte News, which uploaded the Radyo Pilipinas clip, was created in December 2016.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
