The same week American National Basketball Association (NBA) star Stephen Curry was in the country for a three-day tour, at least two fabricated stories made the rounds on social media claiming he called Filipinos “stupid” for voting President Rodrigo Duterte into office.
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“’Filipinos are STUPID because they voted a Killing President’ Says Stephen Curry on CNN Interview,” on Sept. 3; and
“There’s No Way I Apologize For What I Have Said. Filipinos Are Stupid Because They Voted A Killing President,” on Sept. 6.
Both stories carried photos of the Golden State Warrior point guard superimposed with his supposed “Filipinos are stupid” remark: the Sept. 3 story featuring a screen grab of his Feb. 24 interview with CNN International; the Sept. 6 story, a June 7 post-game photo by the Associated Press.
No reputable news organization has reported Curry ever making such a remark.
Neither does the video featured in the Sept. 6 fake story show Curry even talking about Philippine affairs. The video was a May 31 post-game press briefing uploaded on the NBA’s official Youtube channel. The NBA star was in Manila Sept 6-8, his second visit to the country. He first set foot in the Philippines in 2015.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
