A false story was published May 13 by website Viral Duterte News (balitangtotoo.xyz) claiming Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV will be staging a coup against President Rodrigo Duterte.
The story’s clickbait-y headline “PANOORIN! TRILLANES MALAPIT NA RAW MAUBOS ANG PASENSYA KAY TATAY DIGONG, ITUTULOY NA RAW ANG PANGAKONG KU-DE-TA?…. (WATCH! Trillanes about to lose his patience for Tatay Digong, says will push through with promise of ku-de-ta [coup d’etat]?….)” does not reflect its content, a 19-minute clip from an almost two-hour-long Facebook Live video posted Oct. 5, 2017 by Dante Maravillas of a Tarabangan Albay News Television.
In the video, Maravillas was taunting the opposition senator, challenging him to stage a coup against Duterte. Trillanes led a mutiny during Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s presidency.
Viral Duterte News’s false story was published as Trillanes voiced criticism of recent developments, among them the ouster of Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, the multi-million peso ad controversy involving the Department of Tourism and People’s Television Network Inc., and China’s reported installation of missiles in the West Philippine Sea.
Balitangtotoo.xyz was created in Nov. 2017; Youtube channel TOKHANG TV, which uploaded Maravillas’ clip, in Nov. 2016. The story could have reached more than 648,000 people, its biggest traffic generators from social media being President Rodrigo Duterte Facebook Army, Inday Sara Duterte Supporters and President Rody Duterte -Federal Movement International.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
