News

Filipino journalists need to hold the line together, says Rappler CEO Ressa

Trishia Billones, ABS-CBN News
Posted at Dec 14 09:07 PM

Rappler CEO Maria Ressa said the mission of journalism is "more important today than ever." Read more »

FACT CHECK: No, this US diplomat did not credit Duterte with Balangiga bells return

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Dec 14 06:42 PM

The claim is false, the diplomat mentioned has retired from the US foreign service and was not involved in the December 11 return of the bells. Read more »

FACT CHECK: No, Drilon did not sleep through the UP-Ateneo game

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Dec 14 03:34 AM

Multiple Facebook posts have shared a photo they claim shows opposition senator Franklin Drilon sleeping at a major basketball game between the nation’s top colleges. The claim is false and the image was altered. Read more »

FACT CHECK: No, Pope Francis did not bless Duterte's administration

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Dec 13 11:02 PM

A Philippine website ran an article claiming Pope Francis used a recent Vatican conference on drug addiction to bless governments, especially the administration of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, so they could fight "traffickers of death".  Read more »

FACT CHECK: No, December 26 and January 2 are not national holidays

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Dec 13 09:43 PM

A report claims the Philippine government has declared two extra holidays over this Christmas-New Year season. The report is false; the government has not announced the extra holidays. Read more »

Number of journalists jailed for doing job near record high: report

Joseph Ax, Reuters
Updated as of Dec 13 03:23 PM

A near-record number of journalists around the world are behind bars for their work, including 2 Reuters reporters whose imprisonment in Myanmar has drawn international criticism, according to a report released on Thursday. Read more »

FACT CHECK: No, this is not a photo of cop convicted in Kian Delos Santos' killing

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Dec 11 08:10 PM

A widely shared Facebook post contains a photo it claims shows a Philippine police officer responsible for the controversial drug war killing of a teenage boy standing next to the country’s vice president. The claim is false and the man shown in the post is not a police officer. Read more »

Hilbay: Beware of Duterte’s strategy of distraction

Ellen T. Tordesillas
Posted at Dec 10 09:27 PM

Knowing that media are always on the lookout for something out of the ordinary, President Duterte has been feeding us with outrageous things – from one fake news to another.  Read more »

FACT CHECK: No, these are not photos of Chinese-funded road built under Build Build Build

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Dec 07 06:03 PM

The post claims the road was constructed as part of Duterte’s “Build Build Build” program, which aims to help reduce poverty through infrastructure development. Read more »

FACT CHECK: No, UN officials did not accuse Liberal Party of misusing Yolanda funds

Agence France-Presse
Updated as of Dec 05 09:25 AM

A Facebook post claims the UN accused the Liberal Party of misusing disaster relief funds for election campaigning, citing a press conference given by a UN special rapporteur. The rapporteur told AFP he never made that claim and his report on the Philippines does not make the claim. Read more »

FACT CHECK: No, this is not a photo of a sign targeting Duterte rival Mar Roxas

Agence France-Presse
Updated as of Dec 05 10:14 AM

The posts, such as here and here, claim to show a sign in the eastern city of Tacloban that says: “NO TO MAR, TACLOBAN CITY”. Read more »

Campaign spending limit on social media, ‘trolls’ eyed

Christian V. Esguerra, ABS-CBN News
Posted at Nov 29 04:34 PM

While posting and sharing information on social media is free, the Comelec said it could come up with rules covering the cost of production. Read more »

Fact check: No, this is not a photo of Xi Jinping being welcomed by Duterte with a banner saying PH is a 'province of China'

ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Nov 29 09:54 AM

Multiple Facebook pages have posted a photo that purportedly shows Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte and other officials greeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Manila with a banner that declares their nation a “province of China”. The post is false and uses an altered photo to mislead. Read more »

Fact check: No, these Leni slippers were not found at an abandoned NPA camp

Agence France-Presse
Updated as of Nov 30 03:13 PM

Multiple Facebook posts contain a photo purporting to show flip flops with the name of Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo on them at an abandoned communist rebel camp. The photo is being misused out of context. The original image was published in 2016 by a major media organization of the flip flops being distributed to residents in a Philippine city. Read more »

Fact check: No, this footbrige was not left unfinished by the Aquino administration

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Nov 28 06:00 PM

A Facebook post claims to show a partially built footbridge in the Philippines that was not completed during the administration of Benigno Aquino. An analysis of the photo used in the post, and a reverse image search, prove the bridge is in Thailand. Read more »

FACT CHECK: No, Manila does not have a new airport

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Nov 21 06:19 PM

Reports shared to more than a million people on Facebook claim to show a photo of a new airport in the Philippine capital. There is no new airport in Manila and the false reports use an image from a design for a planned Chinese airport to mislead.  Read more »

FACT CHECK: No, Ferdinand Marcos does not hold Guinness World Record for being the "World's Most Brilliant President in History"

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Nov 20 11:33 PM

A Facebook post claims late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos holds a Guinness World Record for being the 'Most Brilliant President in History'.  Read more »

FACT CHECK: No, this is not a photo of the Philippines' first space satellite

Agence France-Presse
Updated as of Nov 16 08:56 PM

The misleading post was published by a Facebook page that supports Imee Marcos, the daughter of former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Read more »

Digital experts bolster church group’s fight vs fake news in 2019 polls

Christian V. Esguerra, ABS-CBN News
Updated as of Nov 16 05:50 PM

A church-based election watchdog has beefed up its board with more information technology experts to help combat fake news spread online in next year’s midterm elections, its new chief said Friday. Read more »

FACT Check: No, this PH anti-bullying law does not enable victims to claim financial compensation

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Nov 14 10:55 PM

A Facebook post claims that a law against bullying in Philippine schools entitles people to claim the equivalent of $280 in damages if someone calls them fat. Read more »