At a glance:

• Claim: Talk show host Vice Ganda is endorsing Bitcoin Manila, an automated trading program for cryptocurrencies.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: Vice Ganda’s supposed appearance on news program TV Patrol, which was cited as the source of information, does not exist.
• Why we fact checked this: Two readers sent the link to the dubious article to Rappler for verification. The content of the article involves investing money.

Complete details:

Website bizwealthvibe.com falsely claimed in an article that talk show host Vice Ganda is endorsing Bitcoin Manila, an automated program for cryptocurrencies. Its headline read: “SPECIAL REPORT: Vice Ganda’s Latest Investment Has Experts in Awe And Big Banks Terrified.”

This is false. Vice Ganda’s supposed appearance on TV Patrol, which was cited by the website as a source, is non-existent.

The article had no publication date, but it said that Vice Ganda appeared “last week” on TV Patrol to “announce a new wealth loophole which he says can transform anyone into a millionaire within 3 to 4 months.”

Although Vice Ganda was mentioned multiple times in the TV Patrol newscasts in the whole month of November, the celebrity never appeared as a guest to endorse a bitcoin product as claimed in the article.

All newscasts of TV Patrol are available on ABS-CBN’s official YouTube channel. The network stopped its TV broadcasts and moved its news programs online after the National Telecommunications Commission ordered the network to stop its operations on May 5.

An almost identical article appeared on website nitify.com in August, which also falsely said that Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III endorsed a similar bitcoin product on noontime television show Eat Bulaga!. The articles on Vice Ganda and Dominguez had similar headlines, content, and even quotes.

The Department of Finance has repeatedly warned the public against fraudulent investment ploys that use the names of prominent figures in the country.

Two readers sent the link to the dubious article to Rappler for verification. – Pauline Macaraeg/Rappler.com

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