No, this photo does not show there is 'lots' of cheap rice in the Philippines
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on February 26, 2019 at 09:00
- 1 min read
- By AFP Philippines
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The photograph, which was posted here on September 18, 2018, and has been shared nearly 200 times, shows rice on sale for between 35-42 peso (67-80 US cents) a kilo.
According to official government figures, the average retail price for rice in February 2019 was 45 peso per kilo.
Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:
The post’s caption, when translated to English, says: “Don't believe that the price of rice is high. There is lots of cheap rice”.
A reverse image search found the photograph was taken by AFP in August 2008.
Below is a screenshot of the photo on AFP's Image Forum website:
The original picture has been doctored to add a photograph of Bong Go, a close ally of President Rodrigo Duterte, who is running for a seat in the upper house Senate in May’s elections.
The misleading post was shared in September 2018 but a search using IntelTechniques shows it is still being shared, for example here on February 15, 2019.
The Philippines was hit by an increase in inflation last year that saw food prices, including rice, climb.
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