This photo has been doctored -- the original shows the former Philippine senator during an interview in 2017

This article is more than one year old.
Published on August 5, 2020 at 07:05
1 min read
By AFP Philippines

An image has been shared in multiple Facebook posts that purports to show former Philippine opposition senator Antonio Trillanes holding a card asking for public support if he decides to run for president in 2022. The claim is false; the image has been digitally altered from a photo that shows Trillanes addressing Reddit users during an online interview in 2017.

The photo was shared in this Facebook post on August 3, 2020.

The text sign that former Senator Trillanes appears to be holding reads: "If I ran for President in 2022, can I expect your vote?"

A screenshot of the misleading post taken on August 4, 2020

The same image was also shared here, here, here, here and here on Facebook with a similar claim.

The claim is false; a reverse image search on Google found the text on the purported sign has been doctored.

The original was posted to Reddit here on June 22, 2017, and shows Trillanes holding a sign that reads: “See you later, redditors!”

Trillanes displayed the sign during an "Ask Me Anything (AMA)" session on the platform.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the doctored photo (L) and the photo posted on Reddit (R):

Screenshot comparison

The original photo appeared in this Esquire Magazine report about Trillanes’ Reddit session.

A representative for the former senator also said the photo in the misleading posts had been digitally altered.

“We would like to inform you that the photo… is edited/doctored,” the representative told AFP in a Viber message on August 4, 2020. “The original photo was used on his AMA.”

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