YouTube channel Showbiz Fanaticz, which has a history of publishing disinformation, posted on Jan. 24 a video falsely claiming that Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has publicly announced her bid for the 2022 presidential race.
The video’s headline, incorrectly labeled as breaking news that “shocked” Vice President Leni Robredo, read: “JUST IN: Mayor SARAH (sic) Duterte, OPISYAL ng KANDIDATO sa 2022 Presidential Election| LENI NAGULANTANG (Mayor Sara Duterte, official candidate for 2022 presidential election | Leni startled)!!”
The Davao city mayor, who led in a Pulse Asia survey last year on presidential bets, has made no such announcement.
In a radio interview this week, she thanked supporters urging her to run for their trust and confidence in her but reiterated she has no plans for 2022.
In a text message sent to several news outlets on Jan. 31, Duterte-Carpio appealed to her supporters to let her run in 2034, and not in the next presidential race that takes place more than a year from now.
Duterte-Carpio told Reuters on Jan. 14 that she had already informed her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, that she does not intend to run for the position. She also said she was neither being “coy” or doing a “last-minute.” Earlier that day, the older Duterte said he told her daughter not to run, then remarked that the presidency is not a job for women.
Showbiz Fanaticz repeatedly and erroneously claimed in its narration that Duterte-Carpio issued an “official statement” that she may defy her father’s wishes and officially file her candidacy for 2022.
To support its false claim, it presented as new a Jan. 9, 2020 graphic created by the Facebook (FB) page SARA DU30 Supporters for 2022. It quoted Duterte-Carpio as saying:
“If destined to lead the nation, then let it be. We live a life that is controlled by God. I am not open or closed, basta kung saan ako ilagay ng Diyos doon ako (but where God leads me, there I’ll be).”
The latter two sentences were actual statements made by Duterte-Carpio in an Aug. 18, 2019 interview with The Manila Times. But there are no records of her saying the first line.
Showbiz Fanaticz’s untrue post surfaced as the partially false quote gained traction on FB from Jan. 23 to 24, according to data from social media monitoring tool CrowdTangle. The video has gotten over 164,000 views as of publishing.
The spurious video was re-uploaded on FB by the pages News PH Today, Rodante Marcoleta live, and Duterte News Info TV from Jan. 24 to 26, and have collectively received more than 23,000 interactions.
Showbiz Fanaticz was created in November 2017, News PH Today and Duterte News Info TV in September 2020, and Rodante Marcoleta live in April 2017.
(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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