Ten days after his arrest, false reports surfaced on Chinese digital media platforms claiming that former President Rodrigo Duterte had collapsed into a coma while in detention at The Hague, where he faces trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity linked to his bloody anti-drug war.
The stunning arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte by Interpol on March 11 has unleashed a torrent of disinformation across social media. Fabricated claims and misleading narratives widely cast him as a victim of injustice in an effort to garner public support.
The Philippine news media landscape has seen significant changes over the past year, especially in private broadcasting, which is experiencing a continuing decline in viewership. Concerns over press freedom persist.
Adult Filipinos are relying less on Facebook and other legacy social media platforms for news, increasingly turning to video-centric TikTok amid changing news consumption habits.
