This photo of a Filipino celebrity has been been doctored -- the original does not show a message about communists

The photo was posted on Facebook here on November 29, 2020. 

It purports to show Filipino actor and comedian John Lapus holding a piece of paper with the words "CPP-NPA-NDF" crossed out.

“CPP-NPA-NDF” are acronyms for the Communist Party of the Philippines; its armed wing New People’s Army; and its National Democratic Front. 

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A screenshot of the misleading post, taken on December 22, 2020

The photo’s caption reads: "Nice Sir John / NO to CPP-NPA-NDF Terrorist Organization! Can Gabriela angel locsin do the same".

Angel Locsin is a Filipino celebrity who has been red-tagged for her links to progressive women’s rights group Gabriela -- and supposedly with communist rebels. 

An identical photo was also shared here, here and here on Facebook alongside a similar claim. 

The claim is false.

A Google reverse image and keyword searches found the photo has been digitally altered from an original posted by Lapus here on Twitter on November 16, 2020.

In the original photo, the paper Lapus holds is scribbled with the words: “NA MOCHA!”

The phrase puns on a Tagalog-language expletive. It is directed against Mocha Uson, a government official and vocal supporter of the Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte. 

Below is a screenshot comparison of the doctored photo in the misleading posts (L) and the original photo posted by Lapus on Twitter (R):

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Screenshot comparison

Filipino tabloid Abante embedded the tweet containing the original photo in this November 17, 2020 report. 

In response to the misleading posts, a representative for Lapus told AFP in a text message on December 22, 2020: “That’s fake.”

The misleading claim has also been debunked here by Philippine-based fact-checking initiative Factrakers.