Posts share altered image to falsely accuse media of hiding Marcos's ill health

"GMA fake news, They may try hard to hide it, but the backdrop of the picture says April 15, 2024," reads the Tagalog-language caption of a Facebook reel on April 8, 2026 that has racked up more than 1,000 shares. 

The video discusses a GMA News photo that shows Marcos at a meeting with a committee tasked to address challenges posed by fuel shortages linked to the Middle East war -- which has seen the vital Strait of Hormuz sealed off following joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran in February (archived link).

The clip features a zoomed-in image of a screen in the background of the image, with circled text reading "Cabinet meeting - April 15, 2024".

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on April 16, 2026, with a red X added by AFP

After Philippine's Presidential Palace said Marcos was hospitalised for inflammation of the colon in January, social media has been awash with speculations that the 68-year-old leader was more severely ill than was publicised (archived link). 

The rumours intensified after he skipped an event with overseas Filipino workers returning from the Middle East on the morning of April 6, despite being seen at other events later that day (archived here and here). 

The posts claiming GMA News was helping to conceal Marcos's poor health spread across Facebook, with users accusing Philippine media organisations of being deceitful.

"Everyone really has a price nowadays. Poor Philippines," one wrote.

Another added: "The mainstream media has been peddling fake news for a long time. Nothing new."

But the circulating image is recent, manipulated to look old.

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Keyword searches led to the April 7 GMA News Facebook post about Marcos's meeting with the committee about petrol mentioned in the false claim (archived link).

The last photo included in the post, which features the logo of state-run RTVMalacanang, shows a clear view of the presentation. It is titled "Proposed reduction or suspension of excise tax on fuels" and dated April 7, 2026.

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A review of the post's edit history shows that on April 8, the clear image replaced an earlier version that had the screen blurred out, a change that appears to have further fuelled the false claim. 

Comments on the post show users accusing the network of manipulating the image to reflect April 7 as the meeting date.

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Screenshot of GMA News post's edit history, taken April 16, 2026

"GMA News Online and its social media platforms did not post such an image indicating this incorrect meeting date," the broadcaster said in its own debunk of the claim on April 9 (archived link). It also refuted the claim on social media that day (archived link). 

The broadcaster clarified in its fact-check report that the change followed the Presidential Communications Office's decision to replace the obscured version it had initially released to media after it became fodder for false rumours about the president.

The agency said blurring was standard protocol for the office for publishing images that capture content displayed on screens.

The presentation's April 7 date can also be seen in footage of the meeting uploaded to YouTube by RTVMalacanang on the same day (archived link).

AFP found no record of the Philippine government discussing fuel excise tax suspension in April 2024.

The measure was only considered recently in the wake of soaring fuel prices in the import-dependent archipelago caused by the war in the Middle East (archived link). 

AFP has fact-checked other misinformation about Marcos's health here and here.