MANILA - The US Embassy on Sunday denied reports claiming US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley expressed support for President Rodrigo Duterte in a speech.
The report was first published on a fake Al Jazeera website, which was already called out by the news agency's Philippine correspondent, Jam Alindogan.
However, Yen Makabenta, a Manila Times columnist, apparently fell for the fake news as he used the report in his September 23 opinion piece.
In "Superstar speaks: Give Duterte space to run the Philippines," Makabenta said because of the report, he now understands why Haley was called a "superstar" in the Donald Trump Cabinet.
Reacting to this, US Embassy press attaché Molly Koscina said: "There has been reporting recently incorrectly quoting a speech that was never made."
She also said the remarks of Ambassador Haley are available on the US Mission to the United Nations website for reference. -- Report from Michael Delizo, ABS-CBN News