This graphic has been doctored to include a fabricated quote about ABS-CBN’s closure

This article is more than one year old.
Published on May 13, 2020 at 08:00
3 min read
By AFP Philippines

A graphic has been shared repeatedly in multiple Facebook posts which purports to show a direct quote from a Philippine senator him about the closure of the Philippines' top broadcaster ABS-CBN alongside a photo of him. The purported quote states the media network’s closure is related to its negative coverage of President Rodrigo Duterte. The claim is false; the graphic has been doctored to include a fabricated quote; it was originally published by another Philippine broadcaster with a different quote.

The graphic was shared in this Facebook post on May 9, 2020.

It bears the logo of One News, a Philippine media organisation, and shows remarks that Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Tesoro Go purportedly made on May 4, 2020.

The purported quote from Go translates from Tagalog to English as: "No one else should be blamed for the closure of ABS-CBN except itself. If it did not hurt the feelings of the President then it would not have come to this. Don't they know, if the president is hurt, the people are hurt too. / SEN. BONG GO / MAY 4, 2020”.

The Facebook post's caption states: "Bong Go admits that ABS CBN closed because it hurt the feelings of Digong. So no one can do anything about it."

“Digong” is a nickname for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, to whom Senator Bong Go is a close aide, according to this AFP report.

A screenshot taken on May 12, 2020, of the misleading post by Norbie Reyes

The Philippines’ top broadcaster ABS-CBN was forced off air on May 5, 2020, after failing to renew its operating licence. The network has seen proposals to extend its franchise languish in Congress since running afoul of Duterte in 2016, AFP reported here.

The same graphic has also been shared here, here and here on Facebook alongside a similar claim.

The claim is false; the graphic has been doctored.

The original graphic was published here on One News’ Twitter account on May 4, 2020, one day before ABS-CBN was forced off air.

The graphic was included in the tweet about Go’s proposal to delay mandatory health insurance contributions from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Translated to English, the direct quote in the One News graphic reads: "What I'm asking is for OFWs to be provided the needed 'extension' due to the hardships they are facing now. All the extensions we can provide in times of crisis, let us provide. They say, 'in times of crisis, every single peso counts'. Let us properly explain all the benefits of being a member of PhilHealth."

A screenshot taken on May 12, 2020, of the original graphic published in a tweet from One News

One News also posted on Twitter to alert its audience to the doctored graphic.

“This quote card using the name of One News has been altered to spread false information,” One News wrote here on May 9, 2020. “It is not true that Sen. Bong Go issued the statement on ABS-CBN's shutdown.”

Below is a screenshot of One News’ tweet, which shows a side-by-side comparison of its original graphic and the doctored graphic, stamped “FAKE”:

Screenshot of One News’ tweet

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