A recent report by website bayanko.info about a Filipino inventor creating the world’s first “water supplemented” cooking range is tied to a money-making scheme.
The online post, published in June, bore the headline, “Pinoy Inventor Made The First Ever ‘Water Supplemented Stove.’” It was re-shared several times by a number of Facebook pages and groups.
The website merely recycled old posts that have made the rounds on the web as early as 2017, all claiming a man named Rolly Palladio invented the device.
A cursory search does not show Palladio’s name nor his supposed invention in legitimate science journals or news reports.
Bayanko.info also featured in its article the first installment of a three-part video series supposedly showing how the device works, as uploaded in August 2015 by YouTube channel Water Supplemented Stove.
An unidentified man, whose voice is heard throughout the video, failed to give a clear explanation of the device, only saying that water in itself is not fuel but becomes one when a “technique” separating hydrogen and oxygen is applied; the man did not mention what the technique was.
In another video,the man does not talk about the stove itself but explains how to have a lucrative business model, and discusses a pyramid scheme in the last installment of the video series.
Several netizens have left comments on the video series saying it was a “pyramid scam” and a “hoax.” Fact checking website Lead Stories in March 2018 also found an older version of this story to be a scam.
The bayanko.info report surfaced around the same time the Philippines faced oil price hikes in June.
Bayanko.info’s story could have reached over seven million people, with traffic to the story largely coming from the pages Estudyante, Pinoy Videos, and Vice Ganda Quotes ツ.
The site was created in April 2018; YouTube channel Water Supplemented Stove in May 2014.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
