A certain blog claimed that former APO singer and activist Jim Paredes caused a Bacolod-bound flight to be delayed because he refused to sit beside a Japanese passenger wearing a Duterte shirt.
Pinoyobserver.com published the story on September 15 about how Paredes allegedly caused a scene in the place that delayed the supposed 10:30 am flight on September 13 by 10 minutes. Paredes reportedly refused to take a seat even if the plane was about to take off because “he find uncomfortable sitting beside a person who wears a Duterte shirt.”
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One passenger on the flight was quoted by Pinoy Observer saying, “The plane was about to move when crew noticed him standing at the center of the alley. The crew radioed the pilot and he was assisted to find one. There was a little argument between him and the female crew, but after several minutes, he was assigned a folding sit near the door.”
A crew member allegedly said, Akala ko po talaga nong una kung may problema siya sa hapon. Kung mabaho, or what. Wala naman akong nakitang problem. Mejo uminit na rin po ang ulo ko kaya tinanong ko siya kung ano ba talaga ang problema. Ayon, sinabi niya na ayaw niya daw po dahil nakasuot ito ng Duterte T-Shirt. Hindi ko naman po alam na anti-Duterte pala siya kaya hinanapan na lang namin ng paraan para maka-upo siya at makaalis na kami dahil umiinit na rin ang po ulo ng ibang pasahero.”
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But Pinoy Observer has been quite notorious in spreading fake news and later describing its website as a satirical site. It was the source of fale stories such as the CBCP urging kin of Bulacan massacre to forgive and forget, BBC anchor Stephen Sackur urging Filipinos to vote for more intelligent senators next time, Oxford law professor saying the ICC cannot prosecute Duterte due to his high approval ratings, and more.
Even the website’s About page gave a clue that it should not be taken seriously, especially by “gullible people, as it says, “This website is not intended for readers who are under 18 years old, and most importantly, Pinoy Observer is not for gullible people.”
Aside from not finding other credible sources reporting the same story about Paredes, we also noticed how Pinoy Observer said that the Cebu Pacific flight number bound for Bacolod is 5J 546. We Googled the said flight and was surprised to find that it was mainly linked to flights from Singapore to Cebu back in 2013.
Although there was no definite location as to where Paredes was coming from when he boarded the flight for Bacolod, but if he was coming from Manila in the morning of September 13 , the flight would have been 5J 485, departing at 9:35 am and arriving in Bacolod at 10:55 am.
Paredes himself debunked the story as fake news!
“Fake news again about me. Is this how desperate they are? Pls RT,” he tweeted with a screenshot of the story’s title.
Fake news again about me. Is this how desperate they are? Pls RT pic.twitter.com/dFoekr0k0p
— Jim (@Jimparedes) September 15, 2017
In another tweet, he said he would reward anyone who can produce a photo of him on a Bacolod-bound plane with P1 million.
“To believers of fake news, U deserve to be lied to. If anyone can produce a photo of me on the plane or in Bacolod last 9/13, i will give 1M,” Paredes said.
To believers of fake news, U deserve to be lied to. If anyone can produce a photo of me on the plane or in Bacolod last 9/13, i will give 1M
— Jim (@Jimparedes) September 15, 2017
He also branded Pinoy Observer as a “fake news site.”
“Pinoy Observer is a FAKE news site. Don’t even visit it. It gives them revenue when you do,” he tweeted.
Pinoy Observer is a FAKE news site. Don’t even visit it. It gives them revenue when you do.
— Jim (@Jimparedes) September 15, 2017
Entertainment reporter Ogie Diaz also cautioned people that the story is fake news.
“Fake news po ito. Pinare-report na rin ito sa fb admin ni Jim Paredes. Next time, sana may proof like pics and video para mas kapani-paniwala. Kahit yung Japanese na lang pagsalitain nyo,” he said on Facebook.
Unfortunately, some people still shared that story from Pinoy Observer despite how suspicious the source is and how it was later denounced as fake news.
Facebook page Taho News shared the story, which was shared by the page’s followers over 200 times. Other pages and individual Facebook users shared it too.
Paredes has been the subject of several fake stories, such as him hating Duterte since college, his fans snubbing him at his CCP concert, him apologizing to those fans, and him calling Mindanaoans “taong bundok.”
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