The Yellows are said to have brought in more protesters from the Visayas and Mindanao regions to reinforce their group for the September 21 rally against dictatorship.
At least, this is what pinoyobserver.com is trying to sell. The problem is that the website has been noted for sharing a lot of fake stories before, some of which we have busted.
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This time, the blog is claiming that a 2Go employee from Bacolod, whose identity she wants to keep hidden, told DYHB Radyo Agong that someone from a Manila-based company rented six Superferry ships for a trip bound for Manila on September 18 and 19.
“The employee said that six ships, 4 from Mindanao and 2 from Bacolod & Cebu, have been rented to transport possible September 21 rallyists from Visayas and Mindanao. The employee did not disclose the agreed amount, but said it costs millions of pesos,” Pinoy Observer wrote.
The employee was quoted saying, ““This is the first time that a company rented the whole ship. Not just one but six. There is no major event on September 21 aside from Martial Law anniversary so I guess the ships will be used for transporting the protesters.”
The said employee estimated that all six ships may accommodate 14,000 passengers.
Rented ships to take Vis-Min protesters to the September 21 rally? But Pinoy Observer is not exactly a reliable source of information, given how it has published so many fake stories before. We could not even find other credible sources that could confirm the story.
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Pinoy Observer carried fake stories such as Jim Paredes causing a flight delay, BBC anchor Stephen Sackur telling Filipinos to elect more intelligent senators, Oxford law professor saying the ICC cannot prosecute Duterte due to his high approval ratings, CBCP asking Bulacan massacre dad to forgive and forget, and more.
However, the blog’s long list of fake stories did not stop netizens from sharing the story on social media.
In fact, former Arroyo adviser on special concerns, Abraham “Abe” Purugganan, was among those who shared the fake news and his post has been shared over 1,000 times since September 18.
Purugganan has also shared satirical and fake stories before, such as those claiming Senator Risa Hontiveros hailed CPP founder Joma Sison a hero, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano asked by mall security to leave the mall, and Magdalo linked to Maute.
As what Pinoy Observer’s About page said, their blog is “not for gullible people.” Those who easily took the blog’s stories as true without verifying their claims with the help of credible sources would likely pay for their gullibility. The website even claimed that it is “only intended for highly intelligent, smart, resourceful and versatile people,” which is probably their way of saying that it is up to their “smart” readers to use their “resourcefulness” in verifying the veracity of their stories.
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