Rappler fact check does not paint Marcos’ visit to Tacloban as false

Claim: A Rappler fact check entitled “HINDI TOTOO: Hindi ibinalita ang pagpunta ni Bongbong Marcos sa Tacloban noong 2013” claims that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s visit to Tacloban did not happen. 

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The YouTube video was posted by an account with 875,000 subscribers. The video has gained 64,961 views and 3,300 likes as of writing. 

The bottom line: Nowhere in the Rappler fact check entitled “HINDI TOTOO: Hindi ibinalita ang pagpunta ni Bongbong Marcos sa Tacloban noong 2013” does it claim that President Marcos did not visit Typhoon Haiyan-hit Tacloban.

Background: The fact check posted on October 20, 2021 was written to address a claim that news media outlets did not cover the visit of then-senator Marcos to Tacloban City when it was struck by Super Typhoon Haiyan. 

That same fact check is now being criticized by a YouTube channel which claims that the Rappler report was painting the visit of now-president Marcos as untrue.

According to the YouTube channel, “Kapag ninyong makikita, parang pinapalabas na hindi totoo ang pagpunta mismo ni BBM sa Tacloban. Ito ay isa sa mga ulat ng Rappler noong October 20, 2021.”

(If you will see, it seems like they are implying that it is not true that BBM visited Tacloban. This is from a Rappler report dated October 20, 2021.)

What it says: The Rappler fact check cites news articles that reported the Tacloban visit of Marcos, proving that mainstream media outlets did indeed cover the relief operation of the former senator. Rappler even uploaded a video report of it in 2013, which was used in the dubious video, countering its claim.

The Rappler article neither contains any statements saying that Marcos did not visit Tacloban in 2013 nor misleads the public into believing so. – Miguel Batallones/Rappler.com

Miguel Batallones is a Rappler intern. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s internship program here.

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