Another fabricated story was published June 13 by blog thinking-pinas.blogspot.com, this time claiming Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said he was prepared to die and was already giving his last farewells.
The fake story, bearing the headline “NAG BABAGANG BALITA: SEN. TRILLANES HANDA NA UMANONG SUMAKABILANG BUHAY! NAGPAALAM NG MAAGA SA MGA TAO! PANOORIN (Breaking news: Sen. Trillanes says he’s ready to go to the afterlife! Bidding people an early goodbye! Watch),” carried as its content a 13-minute video that splices together three clips:
- an Aksyon TV 5 report showing Trillanes speaking at an April 5 Kapihan sa Senado
- Communications Assistant Secretary Margaux “Mocha” Uson interviewing actor Robin Padilla on the sidelines of the Feb. 19 Senate hearing on a controversial frigate deal
- a mirrored 10-minute clip of the five-hour long Feb. 19 Senate hearing
Thinking-pinas.blogspot.com takes out of context and exaggerates the opposition senator’s words in the dated TV5 report, where he said he does not fear retribution from President Rodrigo Duterte, including the possibility of getting killed, as he finishes his Senatorial term in 2019.
“Given na, sige, na at some point makukulong ako, kumbaga sina-psych ko na yung sarili ko diyan. Kung tutumbahin niya ako – e di pag tinumba ka na kasi wala ka nang problema, patay ka na eh – problema na niya ‘yon. Pero sa akin, ganoon na ang mindset ko. I’m looking at things at the worst possible scenario,” Trillanes was shown saying in the video report, which had altered audio quality.
(“It’s a given, alright, that at some point I’ll be put in jail. I’m already psyching myself up for that. If he’s going to have me killed – because if [I] die, [he] won’t have [me as a] problem anymore, [I’d] already be dead – that’s his problem. But for me, that’s my mindset. I’m looking at things at the worst possible scenario.”)
The fake report, which could have reached more than 685,000 people, was published two days after Trillanes reacted to a statement by Duterte on June 7 that one day “someone will shoot him (Trillanes) because he’s arrogant.” The senator, in a statement issued on June 11, challenged the president: “Go ahead, Mr. Duterte, order somebody to shoot me and, I assure you, it would lead to your end.”
Thinking-pinas.blogspot.com has been publishing stories since May 22; Youtube channel Duterte News Portal, which uploaded the spliced clips, since September 2016. The story’s biggest traffic generators are President Rody Duterte Facebook Army, Team Duterte for Federalism and Solid Duterte-Marcos Supporters.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
