Website philnewsupdates.altervista.org published April 27 a misleading story claiming that the Philippines will expel Kuwaiti ambassador Saleh Ahmad Althwaikh in retaliation against Kuwait’s declaration of his Philippine counterpart Renato Villa as persona non grata following a diplomatic dispute.
The story’s headline “[MUST WATCH] GANTI NG PILIPINAS SA KUWAIT PAPALAYASIN RIN ANG KUWAITI AMBASSADOR! ([Must watch] Philippines’ retaliation to Kuwait is to expel Kuwaiti ambassador as well!)” takes out of context some of its content — a 13-minute clip from a 29-minute CNN Philippines newscast earlier that day.
The expulsion was only a suggestion made by ACTS-OFW Party-list Representative Aniceto “John” Bertiz III as an “equivalent retaliation” of Kuwait’s action against Villa, making the story’s headline misleading.
Althwaikh had in fact been recalled by the Kuwaiti government for consultation on April 25, the same day it ordered Villa to leave the country within a week.
The story was published two days after Kuwait ordered Villa to leave, following the Philippine embassy’s “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty when it “rescued” Filipino domestic workers reportedly suffering abuse.
The story could have reached more than 250,000 people, its biggest traffic generators on social media being We Support Duterte Administration, Duterte and Marcos Unite Supporters and Duterte News Global.
Source:
CNN Philippines. https://www.facebook.com/CNNPh
Kuwait News Agency. https://www.kuna.net.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
