A Facebook (FB) user published a false claim that more than a quarter of Filipinos in a recent survey approved the father-daughter tandem of President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio if they were to run together in the 2022 national elections.
Published on July 13 on FB group RUN SARA RUN for PRESIDENT, the erroneous post read: “Just In: The Duterte- Duterte Tandem in the coming 2022 Elections got 28% votes- Pulse Asia Survey.”
Not true. That day, public opinion polling body Pulse Asia published the results of its most recent Ulat ng Bayan survey where it asked the public’s sentiments on prospective individual candidates for president, vice president and senator.
It did not ask about their preference for potential tandems.
Conducted from June 7 to 16, the poll showed that 28% of Filipino adults said Duterte-Carpio was their first choice for president if the elections were held then and there. Meanwhile, 18% of respondents said the elder Duterte was their premier choice for vice president.
Both got the top results in the survey.
The false post has received over 2,400 reactions and 91 shares, and could have reached over 239,000 people, according to social media monitoring tool CrowdTangle. Its comments section showed FB users agreeing with the untrue post, with some saying the Duterte-Duterte tandem actually got a preference rating of 82%, 90% or 97%.
On July 1, President Duterte said he may now be considered a candidate for the vice presidency. Duterte-Carpio said on July 9 that she is open to running for the top post, contradicting previous statements where she expressed disinterest.
The public group RUN SARA RUN for PRESIDENT was created last January.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
