ALTERED PHOTO: Mark Zuckerberg in Liberal Party ad

Claim:

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posed alongside former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Vice President Leni Robredo flashing the “L” hand gesture that is associated with the Liberal Party (LP).

The photo, which circulated on Facebook, makes it appear as if Zuckerberg supports the LP. The Facebook logo in the image is also displayed in yellow.

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The image was posted on a Facebook page on Tuesday, September 29, where it has since received more than 5,600 reactions, 261 comments, and 2,600 shares. It was spotted on Facebook and sent to Rappler for verification.

Rating: ALTERED PHOTO

The facts:

This is a manipulated photo. The Facebook CEO has never posed alongside Aquino or Robredo. Nor has he expressed his support for the LP.

A reverse image search shows that the original image was grabbed from a 2016 Roxas-Robredo TV ad featuring the former chief executive.

The image was altered to include the edited Facebook logo and superimposed Zuckerberg’s face on that of then-presidential candidate Mar Roxas.

The image was first posted on September 29 by satirical or meme pages on Facebook like “DILDO – Duterte Inday sara Laban sa mga Dilawang Oligarch” and “Pinoy Laugh Page.” Screenshots of the post have since circulated without the context of it being satirical.

The photo circulated after Facebook took down a network of pages that they linked to the Philippines’ police and military.

On September 28, President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to ban Facebook in the Philippines. Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque also blasted Facebook on September 29 for taking down “pro-government” pages and accounts while supposedly sparing those that are critical of the government. – with reports from Jo Comuyog, Vernise Tantuco/Rappler.com

This article was written by a Rappler volunteer or intern and 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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