FACT CHECK: Altered Image Shows Fake Vote Count In Philippines’ 2022 Presidential Election
An image shared on Facebook allegedly shows vote tallies in the Philippines’ 2022 presidential election.
Verdict: False
The image has been digitally altered. Credible media outlets report the race was not close.
Fact Check:
Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, is expected to win the Philippines’ 2022 presidential election in a landslide victory, according to The Washington Post. As of press time, Marcos has received 31 million votes, while his closest rival outgoing Vice President Leni Robredo has received 14 million, CNN reported.
An image shared on Facebook claims the race is much closer. It shows what appears to be a screenshot of a GMA News segment showing vote tallies from the election. In the image, Robredo appears to trail Marcos Jr. by less than 400,000 votes with over 19.7 million. (RELATED: Does This Image Show A Banner Urging Sara Duterte-Carpio To Run For President?)
The image is digitally altered. A stream hosted by GMA News’s Facebook account showed Robredo had 9 million votes at 9:25 p.m., not over 19 million. A separate YouTube stream from the outlet that displayed the unofficial count at 9:02 p.m. local time also shows Robredo with 9 million votes. None of the graphics presented during the broadcast showed the two candidates in a close race.
GMA News editor Jaemark Tordecilla addressed the alleged screenshot in a tweet, calling the photo “fake.” GMA News also posted a statement on Twitter, warning the results in the photo were “edited and manipulated.”
— GMA News (@gmanews) May 10, 2022
“Some screenshots of GMA’s Eleksyon 2022 television coverage and results website have been edited and manipulated to feature false election results, and spread on social media by unscrupulous accounts,” reads the statement in part. It goes on to encourage viewers to refrain from spreading the false vote totals.
