Disinformation peddlers in the Philippines shifted to churning out defense-related lies as tensions increased between the country and its neighbor China during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s second year in power.

More disinformation efforts focused on fabricating lies about the West Philippine Sea and the country’s efforts to thwart China’s aggression in the disputed territory. 

The number of false claims produced against the Dutertes also escalated as the rift between the Davao City-based political family and the country’s chief executive deteriorated in the past year.

Meanwhile, the number of dubious claims about persistent lies meant to rebrand and rehabilitate the name of Marcos’ family sharply decreased.

Military activities, acquisitions, alliances

Majority of non-scam disinformation that Rappler debunked in Marcos’ second year as president were about military activities, acquisitions, and alliances.

Rappler observed that 96 out of 238 debunked non-scam claims spread false information on alleged attacks in the West Philippine Sea. Most of these claims talked about fabricated stories of assaults of the Chinese military against the Philippines, while others focused on fake retaliations of the country against the superpower. 

There were also disinformation peddlers that spread claims exaggerating the Philippine military’s modernization program, creating news of non-existent military equipment acquisitions or donations that were often used as proof to show the country’s growing military might.

Some disinformation channels also announced fake alliances between the Philippines and foreign nations that said they would help the country counter China’s aggression in the region. In a few posts, disinformation channels even claimed that these countries have already deployed their forces in the country. 

Lies about Duterte family

Lies about former president Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, also increased during Marcos’ second year in office.

Rappler debunked 22 false claims about the Dutertes in the past year. These included false resignations of Sara Duterte as the Vice President and education secretary which Rappler had debunked as early as October 2023. The early claims about her supposed resignation surfaced eight months before she actually resigned as DepEd Secretary on June 19, 2024.

Pro-Duterte vloggers also made up claims of false appointments of former president Rodrigo Duterte to several key positions in government, while pro-Marcos vloggers focused more on fabricating fake decisions of the International Criminal Court (ICC) related to its investigation into the former president’s “war on drugs” campaign. 

There were also a few death hoaxes pertaining to the former president, who previously disclosed to the public that he suffered from myasthenia gravis – a chronic autoimmune disorder where antibodies disrupt communication between nerves and muscles, leading to skeletal muscle weakness.

Fake presidential orders

In Marcos’ second year as president, disinformation peddlers also put together fictitious claims about presidential orders.

Rappler debunked 22 of these fictional claims from social media vloggers. Most of these claims were fake presidential orders banishing famous personalities like comedian Vice Ganda or newscaster Mel Tiangco. There were also fake proclamations like declaring March 11 a regular holiday, in observance of Eid’l Fitr.

Government programs

Disinformation peddlers also framed fake claims meant to make programs of the Marcos administration look grander in scale.

Of the 18 debunked claims about this topic, several were about Marcos’ housing project and fulfilling his promise of retailing rice at P20/kilo. There were also false articles about the improvement of the economy.

Claims about the success of Marcos’ foreign trips also increased this year, often showcasing alleged financial pledges of host countries to the Philippines.

Political allies, enemies

Politicians and other personalities were also not spared from the disinformation that peddlers spread.

Rappler debunked 21 false claims linked to opposition figures like Senator Risa Hontiveros, and false appointments of Marcos’ political allies like his cousin House Speaker Martin Romualdez to several government positions.

Pro-Duterte vloggers have also made several false claims about fugitive doomsday preacher Apollo Quiboloy. Two trial courts have separately ordered the arrest of Quiboloy since March for child abuse, sexual abuse, and human trafficking but he has refused to surrender, and has even demanded that Marcos assure him in writing that the US government will not meddle in his case.

Israel-Hamas war

False claims about the Israel-Hamas war also increased during Marcos’ second year as president, with Rappler debunking 16 false claims about the war since the President’s last SONA. 

Most false claims Rappler debunked about the Israel-Hamas war were about famous personalities and their fake support for Israel, dubious proclamations of support from countries on either side of the war, and the military activities of both sides.

Impeachments in the legislature

Rappler also discredited 15 claims about fake impeachments of members of the Senate and House of Representatives.

The following members of the Upper and Lower chambers of the legislature became targets of these false impeachment claims:

• Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero
• Senators Robin Padilla
• Senator Risa Hontiveros
• Senator Jinggoy Estrada
• Senator Raffy Tulfo
• Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa
• House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Representative France Castro

In some of these claims, disinformation peddlers gave fake reasons for the alleged impeachment of the senators. An example was when Hontiveros was allegedly impeached because she urged the government to cooperate with the ICC probe into Duterte’s drug war killings. Another was when Padilla was allegedly removed from the Senate because of an alleged information leak. – Rappler.com