Badoy red-tags Rappler over fact check articles

Presidential Communications Undersecretary and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) Spokesperson Lorraine Badoy red-tagged Rappler over its fact check articles on her misleading Facebook posts. 

On Tuesday, March 2, Badoy accused Rappler of being a “friend and ally” of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), New People’s Army (NPA), and National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF). 

Rappler condemns Badoy’s baseless and irresponsible red-tagging. Below is our full statement: 

Rappler strongly condemns Presidential Communications Undersecretary and NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lorraine Badoy for yet another instance of her irresponsible red-tagging.

Badoy’s latest tirade stems from two of Rappler’s recent fact check stories. We recently debunked one of her earlier claims that “Lumad” is a term created by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the New People’s Army (NPA), and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF).

In addition, Badoy shared our fact check on a photo claiming Alcadev [Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development] was teaching students how to become members of the NPA. Rappler’s fact check team found the photo was from a theater performance.

Rappler’s fact check initiative is rooted in a multilevel process of verification to ensure that our reports are accurate. As investigative journalists, we follow a rigorous methodology for all our reports. (Read more on our fact check project here.) 

We are in no way defending the NPA through our fact checks. Rappler will continue to strive for truth and combat disinformation by citing reputable sources in our reports. This mandate is never an indication of terrorism, but of our inclination toward democracy and justice.

We at Rappler are committed to truth-telling. We likewise advise Badoy to stick to the facts and to put an end to her relentless habit of baseless red-tagging.

Badoy’s claim that “Lumad” is a term made up by the CPP-NPA-NDF was proven false by 3 sources, one of which was an article on the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) website that said “Lumad” is a “Bisayan term” meaning “native” or “indigenous.” The NCCA is a government agency under the Office of the President. 

Rappler also cited a book published by the National Museum of the Philippines and a chapter in the book Handbook of Ethnic Conflict. The chapter was written by members of the Ateneo de Manila University Department of Psychology and by Rudy B. Rodil, a Mindanao historian and former vice chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front peace panel for negotiations.

This is the 3rd fact check article that Rappler wrote about Badoy’s social media posts and subsequently rated as false on Facebook. Rappler is a 3rd party fact-checking partner of Facebook. Below are the fact check articles that Rappler has written in relation to her posts:

• FALSE: Kabataan Partylist received about 160,000 votes in 2019 election
• FALSE: ‘Red-tagging’ a term invented by CPP-NPA-NDF
• FALSE: Lumad is a word made up by the CPP-NPA-NDF

Badoy also took issue with Rappler’s fact check of a photo of two armed men pointing guns at people kneeling, which was used to supposedly show how Alcadev teaches its students how to become members of the NPA. The photo was actually of a theater performance depicting how Alcadev’s school director and two community leaders were killed by a paramilitary group in Lianga. 

As such, Rappler’s false rating is limited to that single photo, which was taken out of context and was thereby misleading. The photo that was rated false was posted by the Facebook page “Pinoy Exposé” and it did not mention Badoy.

Badoy has red-tagged a number of individuals, government officials, news organizations, and non-governmental organizations before, including: CNN Philippines, the College Editors Guild of the Philippines, ACT Teachers Representative France Castro, Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate, Manila Bulletin columnist Tonyo Cruz, journalist Inday Espina-Varona, activists Carol Araullo and Renato Reyes, and former Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casiño, among others.

Unlike other government agencies, whose budgets were approved following plenary debates, the House deferred plenary debates on the proposed budget of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) twice in September 2020. This was due to Badoy’s social media claims that Makabayan lawmakers are terrorists.

Facebook suspended Badoy’s account for 30 days starting Thursday, March 4, for not following their Community Standards.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said on Thursday that while it is “sorely tempted to dismiss Lorraine Badoy’s hysteric attacks on Rappler for calling out her lies as signs of a mind coming unhinged from having to conjure up fiction after fiction almost daily” this would “give her a way out from her culpability in the crimes of this government for there will be an accounting for the extrajudicial murders of people she and her ilk have baselessly yet viciously red-tagged.”

“But this we are certain of: The independent Philippine media will outlast you and your murderous principal, and we assure you, in your darkest hour, we will show you the same fairness and objectivity you never showed anyone,” it said.

– Rappler.com