On the day overseas Filipino worker Jullebee Ranara was buried, another unrelated video circulated on social media, passed off as the arrest of the suspect in her rape-slay. The video was taken in Saudi Arabia, not Kuwait.
YouTube
Uploaded on YouTube on Feb. 5, the video carried the headline:
“FULL VIDEO OFW SA KUWAIT PIN*ATAY (OFW IN KUWAIT KILLED) LATEST UPDATE NAGSALITA NA ANG PUM*ATAY KAY JULLEBEE RANARA BUROL (JULLEBEE RANARA’S KILLER ALREADY TALKED WAKE).”
During the first half, a narrator talked about another netizen’s video involving the suspect and Ranara, who was reportedly raped, impregnated and murdered by her employer’s 17-year-old son.
The video also covered recent news reports related to Ranara’s case.
TikTok
Screenshots of a TikTok post supposedly showing the suspect’s arrest were shown in the video.
TikTok user @z505vvcu posted the video on Jan. 26 with captions unrelated to Ranara’s case.
Other Filipino TikTok users started reposting it, falsely claiming that the man arrested was the suspect.
These are false. Reports published by Saudi Arabia-based media organizations say that the clip shows a student quarrel and has been circulating since 2019.
A YouTube channel also uploaded a longer version on Nov. 27, 2019.
The visual clues in the police cars affirm that the arrest video was in Saudi Arabia. The logo and colors match with those used by Saudi police as seen in these news reports.
Authorities say that the suspect in Ranara’s killing is already in jail but no other details are available.
The YouTube video was posted the same day Ranara’s remains were laid to rest in Last Piñas City.
VERA Files Fact Check previously debunked other erroneous information surrounding Ranara’s case. (Read related story VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Video DOES NOT show execution of OFW murder suspect)
The YouTube video uploaded by the channel Jessie Ferrer 7 (created on Nov. 4, 2018) now has 570,455 views. The TikTok videos with the wrong context were posted by users like @nhorahemaan6 and @floranteguiang collectively garnering more than 1.2 million views. These videos were also shared on Facebook.
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