FALSE: ‘Manila Bulletin story’ on Robredo proposing law to jail bashers

CLAIM: On March 23, 2019, the Facebook page Meanwhile in the Philippines posted what is supposedly a screenshot of a Manila Bulletin report published on March 21, 2019 with the byline of Tonyo Cruz. The headline says, “Robredo to pass a law to put netizens behind bars for bashing her.”

The article’s blurb supposedly said the Vice President is pushing for a law that will send her critics to jail except for the “media and known anti-Duterte pages like Silent No More and Pinoy Ako Blog.”

The post did not include any links to the online news site. It has been reposted by several Facebook pages and personal accounts and has gained a total of 5,209 interactions.  

The page Meanwhile in the Philippines has over 290,000 followers. In its “About” section, it has a disclaimer which says, “We are not a news site, we are an opinion and satire site.”

The post got mixed reactions, however. While some Facebook users pointed out that the page is a satire page, there were also users who either called it fake or reacted angrily against Robredo, indicating that they believed the post. 

The link to the post was shared with Rappler via the Facebook group Fact-checking in the Philippines. 

Rating: FALSE

The Facts: The Manila Bulletin denied publishing a story with this headline. The publication’s online news site has released a statement labeling the post a “hoax.”

Manila Bulletin columnist and blogger Tonyo Cruz told Rappler that he “didn’t submit any such article” nor “did the editors assign” to him one. He said he writes under the Opinions and Editorials section of Manila Bulletin. The alleged story on Robredo was posted under the News section. 

This is not the first time that Rappler has fact-checked content on a fabricated news report. On August 2018, a screenshot of a fake Rappler article claiming Robredo is pushing for the legalization of marijuana and shabu was proven a “hoax.” – Glenda Marie Castro/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.