FALSE: Aegis vocalist Juliet Sunot dies

At a glance

• Claim: Aegis vocalist Juliet Sunot died of suicide due to severe depression.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: Aegis says this is “fake news.” The video linked in the false posts leads to a report on the death of comedian Kim Idol.
• Why we fact-checked this: Posts containing this claim were flagged by Facebook Claim Check, a tool that monitors dubious content on the platform.

Complete details

Facebook posts falsely claim that Juliet Sunot, one of the vocalists of the band Aegis, died of suicide due to severe depression.

Two posts included a photo of Sunot with the text “Breaking News: LEAD Singer Ng “AEGIS BAND” Na si ‘Juliet Sunot’, Nag-Bigti Dahil sa Matinding Depression.” (Translation: Breaking News: Lead singer of Aegis band Juliet Sunot dies from hanging due to severe depression)

One post was captioned “Nakikiramay po kami sa pamilya ni ‘Juliet Sunot’ at sa AEGIS BAND… Sana’y tatagan nyo ang inyong loob sa dumating na pagsubok na ito. Rest in Peace now idol-JULIET.” (We condole with the family of “Juliet Sunot” and AEGIS BAND… May you remain strong during this difficult time. Rest in peace now, our idol Juliet.)

These posts were flagged by Facebook Claim Check, a tool that monitors dubious content on the platform.

The claim is false.

The posts contain links that lead to gmanews-netw0rk.xyz pages, which in turn lead to the same trend-portal2.xyz page. The latter page embedded a video which leads to one uploaded by YouTube channel Mga Bagong New entitled “umawit ng luha (sang tears).”

It is a repost of a GMA News video report on the death of comedian Kim Idol. Kim, whose real name was Michael Argente, died on July 13, 2020.

Aegis also addressed this claim on their verified Facebook page, calling it “fake news,” and posted a video of Sunot herself. “Eto po, buhay pa po ako (Here I am, still alive),” she said.

Moreover, there are no news reports that support this claim. – Loreben Tuquero/Rappler.com

The Department of Health, through the National Center for Mental Health, has a national crisis hotline to assist people with mental health concerns. The hotline can be reached at 1553, which is a Luzon-wide, toll-free landline number, 0917-899-8727 and 0966-351-4518 for Globe and TM subscribers, and 0908-639-2672 for Smart and Sun subscribers.

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.