This photo has been doctored to show the actor holding a manipulated placard
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on February 17, 2020 at 08:55
- 3 min read
- By AFP Philippines
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The photo was published on Facebook here on January 4, 2020. Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:
The post’s caption states: “SOLID | That’s right baron blame not the GOVERNMENT but the Lopezes who are the owners”.
The text in the card Geisler is seen holding reads: “Mr. Gabby Lopez of ABS-CBN if you are concerned about your employees.. Pay your taxes and debt that the government is charging you!”
Lopez, whose photo appears on the upper right above the ABS-CBN logo, is chair emeritus of the company.
The image in the post’s background shows a crowd of ABS-CBN employees, which corresponds to the 9-minute 21-second mark of this corporate video from 2013.
Social media comments to the post appear to believe the photo was authentic, while others were unsure. Below are screenshots of some of the comments:
In English, they state:
“Baron got it right for the first time! Good luck Baron at least Gabby Lopez knows his obligation!”
“You nailed it baron”.
“Is that not edited? The photo showing baron geisler??”
The same photo was shared alongside a similar anti-ABS-CBN caption on Twitter here.
Similar photos with different text shown on the card, albeit also referencing the network’s supposed financial liabilities, were also shared on Facebook here and here.
These claims are false.
Keyword searches found that the photo of Geisler, which is a screenshot taken from this July 2019 video, was doctored. In the video, Geisler is in fact speaking in support of ABS-CBN and is appealing to the government to allow the network to continue operations.
Below is a screenshot of the original video:
The card Geisler is holding reads: ‘LEGISLATIVE FRANCHISE FOR ABS-CBN NOW ! #SaveABSworkers / -Defend Job Philippines”.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the doctored photo (L) and the original video (R):
The Defend Job Philippines Facebook page has also debunked the photo in this post on January 6, 2020.
The controversy surrounding ABS-CBN intensified this month after the government on February 10, 2020 filed a legal petition to strip the network of its operating rights, AFP reported here.
ABS-CBN has denied having any unpaid taxes, saying in a statement on February 13, 2020 that the company “has no outstanding tax liability with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). In fact, the BIR issued a Tax Clearance Certificate to ABS-CBN in 2019.”
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly pledged to halt the network’s broadcast operations, accusing it of failing to air his campaign advertisements during the 2016 elections.
Geisler, who appears in some of the network’s shows, references the 2016 elections at the 28 second-mark in the original video.
“More than 10,000 will lose their jobs. Think about that. If the government just thinks of getting even because of the miscommunication in 2016, let us move forward,” he says in Tagalog.
Critics have called the efforts to suspend ABS-CBN the latest attack on press freedom under Duterte, AFP reported.
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