FALSE: Media refuses to cover Bongbong Marcos’ campaign

At a glance

• Claim: The media refuses to cover presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s campaign for 2022.
• Rating: FALSE
• Facts: Several media outlets include Marcos in their coverage of the 2022 election cycle.
• Why we’re fact-checking this: A TikTok video with this claim has 94,700 likes and 2,900 shares, as of writing. It has also been posted on Facebook, gaining 7,000 views so far.

Complete details

On October 20, a netizen uploaded a video on TikTok showing presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. expressing his gratitude to his supporters for having a wide reach on social media, despite the media’s reluctance to cover him. It was accompanied by the hashtag “#bongbongmarcos2022.”

In the said video, a large text can be seen that says, “Ayaw akong icover sa media at television… Mabuti na lang nandyan kayo sa social media…” (The media and television do not want to cover me. Luckily, you have a presence on social media.)

As of writing, the TikTok video has 94,700 likes and 2,700 shares, and a post on Facebook with the same video has 7,000 views.

Some netizens believed the claim, calling the media “biased” in the comment section. They also said the media’s supposed non-coverage of Marcos’ political campaign was pointless and baseless.

This claim is false.

The full video of Marcos was originally published on April 4, 2018, on his verified Facebook page and has resurfaced on other social media platforms because of the upcoming elections in May 2022. 

In the full video, Marcos stated, “Kaya naman ako’y nagpapasalamat sa inyong lahat. Alam naman natin eh medyo ayaw akong i-cover kung minsan ng traditional media, lalo sa television, tsaka ’yung mga ibang diyaryo. Mabuti na lang nandiyan kayo sa social media, ‘pinaparinig ninyo ang inyong mga boses at kayo’y nandiyan, tuluyang suporta para maramdaman ng taumbayan kung ano ba talaga ang iniisip ng ating mga kababayan.” 

(This is why I am thankful to all of you. We know that the traditional media, especially on television and some newspapers, sometimes do not want to cover me. Luckily, you are on social media, you’re making your voices heard and you are always there to continuously support and to make the people see what their fellow countrymen think.)

This is different from the phrase that can be seen on the TikTok video, which says the media refuses to cover Marcos.

The media does in fact regularly cover events related to Marcos.

October 6, Rappler published a news article when he filed his certificate of candidacy. CNN Philippines also released a report regarding the endorsement of the Enrile family of Marcos’ presidential candidacy.

When Marcos announced on November 16 that Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio would be his running mate, INQUIRER.Net also published it along with their personal statements on why they decided to team up. 

News outlets such as Bulatlat also reported on the disqualification petitions filed against Marcos by a number of civic and human rights organizations. The report included an analysis of the petitioners’ defense as well as Marcos’ response to the matter.

Furthermore, the Marcos-Duterte caravan on December 8 was covered by ABS-CBN News, including an article reflecting what their supporters’ think of the two candidates.

Numerous other news reports on Marcos’ presidential run can be found through Google search and on Rappler’s “Bongbong Marcos” topic page. – Christian Bohol/Rappler.com

Christian Bohol is a Rappler Mover. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor.

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