FACT CHECK: ‘MTRCB summons’ for Vice Ganda came from satire account

Claim:  The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) and its chair, Lala Sotto-Antonio, summoned talk show host Vice Ganda and McDonald’s Philippines over the fast food chain’s new fried chicken advertisement.

Rating: SATIRE

Why we fact-checked this: The claim was posted on October 27 by the satire account @altcristifermin on X (formerly Twitter). As of this writing, the post has 25,400 likes, 2,522 combined reposts and quotes, 620 replies, and 2.8 million views.

What the post says: The tweet claimed that the MTRCB issued the summons because Vice Ganda’s way of eating fried chicken in the commercial supposedly drew parallels to a controversial scene in ABS-CBN’s noontime show It’s Showtime, which was previously called out by the regulatory board over “alleged indecent acts.” 

The facts: The author of the post on X, “Anima Cristi Fermin,” is a satirical page adopting the persona of Filipino talk show host Cristy Fermin. While the author clarified that the post was satire, several replies in the X thread show that some users believed the claim to be true. 

Fermin does not have an account on X and is not affiliated with the satirical page. In the October 30 episode of Cristy FerMinute, the talk show host clarified that she doesn’t have any personal social media accounts. Fermin currently runs a Facebook, YouTube channel, and TikTok account under the name “Showbiz Now Na!”

On October 29, the MTRCB released a statement denying the “malicious and false” social media posts claiming that it had “summoned a certain celebrity who appeared in a recent television (TV) commercial of a fast-food chain.” While it did not name the celebrity, the details in the statement suggest that the regulatory board was referring to the Vice Ganda ad. 

MTRCB and Vice Ganda: It can be recalled that the MTRCB previously summoned the producers of It’s Showtime to testify after receiving complaints about its ‘Isip Bata’ segment that featured “concerning scenes” between hosts and real-life couple Vice Ganda and Ion Perez.

In a press release posted on MTRCB’s social media accounts on July 31, the two hosts allegedly committed “indecent acts” during the July 25 episode, where Vice Ganda was seen taking cake icing from Ion’s fingers before tasting it and greeting Ion a “happy monthsary.”

On September 4, the MTRCB suspended the show for 12 airing days and later denied ABS-CBN’s motion for reconsideration. – Larry Chavez/Rappler.com

Larry Chavez is a Rappler Intern, under the Research Unit. He is a fourth year Communication Research student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Sta. Mesa Manila. 

This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here. 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.