The headline of an April 19 story by dailydu30.info claiming Vice President Leni Robredo was shocked to know her rival, former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., was ahead of her by 10,000 votes in the vice presidential vote recount is false and misleading.
The story “OMG! Leni very shocked to know how Marcos has 10,000 votes over her! Watch!” carries a spliced 11-minute video of the following: a press conference with Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, Bongbong’s sister, and two newscasts by CNN Philippines — one on Robredo and another on Imee Marcos.
No legitimate news outfit has reported any update on the vote recount so far, making the headline false. It also misleads because neither Robredo nor Imee makes such a claim in the video.
The story was posted the same day Robredo filed a motion for reconsideration with the Supreme Court appealing for a 25 percent threshold – or ballot ovals shaded a quarter of the way – be considered for the vote recount. The SC, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, currently maintains a 50 percent threshold.
The vice presidential vote recount began on April 2, after Marcos filed a petition in June 2016 contesting Robredo’s win.
Dailydu30.info was created only two days before it published the false report. The biggest traffic generators on social media are Duterte Balita, Sara Duterte Worldwide Supporters and Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, and could have reached more than 1.9 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.)
