MANILA, Philippines – The Australian embassy in the Philippines warned against a fake news article that says Filipinos can travel visa-free to Australia starting January 2017.

“The Embassy is aware of a hoax/scam suggesting that visa-free options for Filipino nationals will be available from January 2017,” the embassy said on its Facebook page on Monday, November 7.

“This is a scam, and potential travelers to Australia must have a valid Australian visa,” the embassy added.

“Australia maintains a universal visa regime. This means Filipino passport holders must have a visa, as a result of a visa application, regardless of the length of travel,” it explained.

The Australian embassy then advised travelers to visit their website to know how to apply for a visa. 

The warning comes as fake news websites abound, creating misinformation among netizens. (READ: Fake accounts, manufactured reality on social media)

One of these, tv-cnn.com, which mimics news outlet CNN, published a story with the headline, “BREAKING NEWS: Australia Announces Visa-Free for Filipino Ordinary Passport Holders.”

Rappler has a list of websites pretending to be legitimate news outlets. 

Facebook also allows users to report fake news stories online. – Rappler.com