A little over a week after Sen. Manny Pacquiao came under fire for splitting with his boxing trainer, Freddie Roach, website trendingnewsssph.altervista.org misleadingly published an eight-month-old video of a hospital Pacquiao supposedly intends to build in his hometown General Santos City.
Bearing the headline “Manny Pacquiao Medical Center, Ibinida (Manny Pacquiao Medical Center, laid out),” the April 26 story carried a six-minute September 2017 video presentation by Davao-based architectural firm Salac Greenworld Architects of the hospital.
Facebook pages that shared the story further misleads by claiming the hospital has already been built. Its caption reads: “[S]i Sen. Manny Pacquiao, senador palang may naipatayo ng ospital para sa kanyang mga kababayan… (Sen. Manny Pacquiao, while just a senator, has already built a hospital for his countrymen…).”
Salac Greenworld Architects’ website shows the proposed hospital project is still labeled “soon to rise”. There have been no news reports, nor has Pacquiao announced anything about the proposed hospital or its construction.
Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer for 15 years, said he felt hurt because he was not personally informed by the fighter of his decision to cut ties.
The story’s biggest traffic generators on social media are Duterte Sa Masa, Duterte Warriors and Ronald Dela Rosa Supporters, and could have reached more than 2.8 million people.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
