During the 2016 election campaign, there were so many fake stories about celebrities endorsing political candidates, such as then presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte. Now, another celebrity name has been added to that list as a recent story claimed that Hollywood actor Matt Damon allegedly described President Duterte as the last man standing.
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Despite how unbelievable the story may seem, some netizens still bought and are even spreading it on Facebook by sharing it.
Facebook pages “OKd2” and “Philippine News Courier,” and “OFW Global Movement for Empowerment” shared it to their followers, while a netizen shared it to the group “(vf)DDS/ DIEHARD DUTERTE SUPPORTERS.”
However, the fact alone that the story came from Okd2.com meant that it needs even more vetting, considering how the website loves its fake and satirical stories. True enough, when we checked the article, it was typed as “humor & satire.” Still, we read on to know what the other netizens fell for.
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Damon allegedly praised Duterte’s war on drugs and called him as “the last man standing” between the drug syndicates and their potential victims. He was said to have made the remarks when he came on CNN’s Anderson 360 with activists/political analysts James Carville and Michael Moore. Anderson and his guests talked about gun violence in the US and the mass shootings in Las Vegas and Texas. The Hollywood actor allegedly noted how the US has become the most dangerous country in the world, even more dangerous than the Middle East with its ISIS problem. Damon also allegedly commented on the killings in the Philippines and dismissed the talks about extrajudicial killings as political propaganda.
Damon was quoted saying the following:
“I think the Philippine President is doing what his people asked him to do during the campaign period. With a very high approval rating, American people should stop meddling in this man’s own business. We have crisis in American and yet people here are still talking about the Philippines.”
“I think the problem in Asia, especially in the Philippines is relocating to US now. Pres. Duterte has made a pretty good case there against drug dealers. I think he is the last man standing in front of these drug dealers.”
Okd2 also noted that Damon visited the Philippines when the “Bourne Supremacy” filmed in the country.
We’d like to point out out the things that are not true in this story, the same reasons why we should not believe it:
- Damon did not comment on Duterte.
No, he did not describe him seemingly as the last barrier that protects potential drug users from the drug suppliers.
- Damon did not make the statements found in the Okd2 story.
You can check those statements yourself and find that they can only be found on Okd2 but not on any other credible news site.
- Damon did not appear on CNN Anderson 360° on November 8, 2017.
On November 8, Anderson Cooper’s program tackled Michael Flynn’s issues and talked to 2016 Democractic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, not Damon, Carville, and Moore.
While the YouTube account above is not officially that of the CNN program, we verified that it was indeed the episode on November 8th with the list of episodes posted on IMDB.
- Damon did not visit the Philippines to film a Bourne movie.
It was actually the lead actors Jeremy Renner and Racheil Weisz for “The Bourne Legacy” who filmed in the Philippines in 2012.
- Damon’s story is “satire,” as classified by Okd2.
If only the netizens bothered to click through to the story, or find the source, being Okd2, they would have easily found out that it was put out as a satirical article.
Damon was not the first celebrity who figured in a fake story and was alleged to have endorsed or praised Duterte. We busted stories about another Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger defending Duterte, veteran actor and host Vic Sotto also defending Duterte, Filipina actress Andi Eigenmann endorsing Duterte, newly crowned Reina Hispanoamericana Winwyn Marquez calling him the best president in the world, and more.
Sources: ( abs-cbn.com )
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