The fake story on US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley saying that President Rodrigo Duterte should have space to run his country has caught quite a splash over the weekend, especially after it made its way to mainstream media when a columnist used it for his opinion piece.
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But aside from Manila Times columnist Yen Makabenta, the fake story on Haley also victimized the official Facebook page of DILG Undersecretary Emily Padilla.
The page shared graphics with the statements found in Makabenta’s column and a photo of Haley.
“She nailed it!” the page’s caption said.
When some commenters said that the story about Haley is fake news, Padilla’s Facebook page just went on to share the link to Makabenta’s September 23 column.
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“Hahaha wala na talaga pag asa mga nasa cabinete ngayon. Wala man lang due diligence. Sukdulang ishare kahit fake? Hahaha,” one commenter wrote.
“Please be a responsible public servant. Stop spreading fake news. Mahiya ka naman,” another commenter said.
As of the afternoon of September 25, Padilla’s post has been removed from her official Facebook page.
Aside from Padilla’s Facebook page, we also caught another government official, PEZA chief Charito “Ching” Plaza, sharing fake news a few times in the past. She shared the fake stories on the Philippines being the ‘most reformed country’ since Duterte was elected, French president Emmanuel Macron promising to ‘do a Duterte,’ and US President Donald Trump acknowledging Filipinos’ support for him during the elections.
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