Altered NATO summit image accompanies false claim leaders secured ex-Philippine president’s release

Published on July 2, 2025 at 10:58
3 min read
By Jan Cuyco, AFP Philippines

After NATO members gathered at The Hague and pledged to increase defence spending, a doctored image was shared in posts falsely claiming it showed world leaders posing with a cardboard cutout of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte after they secured his release from detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Duterte remains in ICC detention, and the attached image was altered from a photo taken at a social dinner hosted by the Dutch king and queen.

"World leaders gathered at The Hague, Netherlands for a 'Bring Him Home' meeting to talk about the release of former president Rodrigo Duterte," reads part of the Tagalog-language caption of a TikTok video shared on June 26, 2025.

It adds that leaders "agreed with the ICC to release FPRRD (former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte) at the soonest possible date".

The video, which has been viewed more than 180,000 times, appears to show an image of world leaders such as US President Donald Trump and France's Emmanuel Macron standing behind a cardboard cutout of Duterte. Posters reading "Bring Him Home" can also be seen plastered on walls in the background.

The post surfaced after leaders of NATO countries met at The Hague on June 24 and 25, with the Western political and military alliance agreeing to massively ramp up their defence spending to satisfy Trump (archived here and here).

The US leader had repeatedly suggested Washington could withhold protection from European countries unwilling to spend more on defence, but signed off on a final declaration confirming an "ironclad commitment" to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's collective defence pledge that an attack on one is an attack on all.

The Hague is also where Duterte has been detained since early March for alleged crimes against humanity tied to his crackdown on drugs that killed thousands of mostly poor men (archived link).

Screenshot of the false post taken on July 2, 2025, with the red X mark added by AFP

The image appearing to show world leaders supporting Duterte was also shared in similar Facebook posts.

"Good for Father Digong. Even after his term ended, he is being included by other countries. They must really love him," read a comment on one of the posts, using a nickname for the former president.

Another said: "This makes me cry. So touching."

While the former Philippine president's defence team have filed a motion for his interim release, ICC prosecutors have formally opposed the application (archived here and here).

His request for interim release is not mentioned in the NATO summit's declaration issued on June 25, and Duterte remains in ICC detention as of July 2 (archived link).

NATO social dinner

A reverse image search on Google of the image accompanying the false posts led to a similar photo posted on NATO's official website on June 24, as part of a slideshow about a social dinner hosted by the Netherland's King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima at the Huis ten Bosch palace (archived link).

Unlike in the falsely shared image, no cutout of ex-president Duterte was placed in front of the Dutch royal family nor were any posters plastered on the walls of the royal palace.

Screenshot comparison of the altered image (left) and the NATO photo (right), with differences highlighted by AFP

A similar photo uploaded to AFP's photo archives also shows the circulating image was altered.

Subsequent reverse image searches led to photos of a similar cutout of the ex-Philippine president in a March 29 Facebook post by pro-Duterte Senator Ronald dela Rosa (archived link).

The "Bring Him Home" posters, meanwhile, correspond to those seen in a March 16 Facebook post shared by staunch Duterte ally Senator Robin Padilla (archived link).

AFP has debunked several false claims about the ex-president being released from detention.

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