Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos dispels health rumours by breaking into 'jumping jacks' at his office, the government lodges complaints against various Facebook accounts and warns tech giant Meta, and social media speculation swirls around the president's health, particularly in light of the vice president's impeachment.
MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos last month jogged out of his office and broke into impromptu jumping jacks in an attempt to dispel rumours he was paralysed, dying of late-stage cancer, or dead.
While largely played for laughs, the government lodged complaints against several Facebook accounts and warned tech giant Meta it faced legal action should it fail to curb disinformation it labelled an"escalating" threat to national security. Since the 68-year-old leader's January hospitalisation for diverticulitis -- an inflammation in the colon --- social media has been awash with speculation he was more ill than publicised.
The posts have circulated widely among supporters of Marcos' arch-rival and 2028 presidential candidate, Vice President Sara Duterte, whose Monday impeachment has thrown her run into doubt. AFP's fact-checkers have tracked hundreds of posts on Facebook, TikTok and X -- some racking up tens of thousands of shares -- of old or edited visuals as proof of the president's ailing health.
The narrative has sown"seeds of instability" in his presidency and largely benefited Duterte, Jean Franco, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines, told AFP. The president's father and namesake, sick with kidney disease during the final years of his dictatorship, once lifted his shirt on national television to show he bore no transplant scars. The president's assurances that his diagnosis was non-life-threatening have done little to allay the rumours.
When he skipped an event in early April, speculation that he was ill or dead -- including a years-old photo of a Philippine flag flying at half mast -- flooded social media. The flag photo was shared by former broadcaster-turned-social media presence Jay Sonza, who campaigned for the Marcos-Duterte ticket during the pair's brief 2022 alliance but has since posted exclusively for the vice president.
"Who died? " one curious commenter asked under Sonza's flag post, with others claiming it was Marcos. "Hope VP Sara steps in to govern this country," said another. Sonza was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation about two weeks later on charges of cyberlibel and"unlawful publication", alleging he fabricated medical records about the president.
Marcos' communications office, meanwhile, lauded the arrest, having earlier announced it had filed complaints against three Facebook accounts with the country's justice department. Numerous posts have also accused the media of colluding with the administration to keep details of his health secret. One altered image -- shared in a page with 80,000 followers called"President Duterte News" -- alleged that major broadcaster GMA News was part of a cover-up.
That framing, repeated across multiple Facebook pages, is intended to"further erode trust in legitimate media", said Yvonne Chua, who teaches journalism at the University of the Philippines.
"They reinforce the broader narrative that mainstream media cannot be trusted and is aligned with those in power," Chua told AFP. Marco's government has since demanded that Facebook owner Meta take down"panic-inducing" content on the platform, where Filipinos rank among the world's heaviest users. The content poses"a direct and escalating threat to public order, economic confidence, and national security", the government said, without spelling out what legal action it might take.
Meta, one of the companies that pays AFP to fact-check posts with potentially false information, has not responded to multiple requests for comment. More than a dozen"fake news" bills, meanwhile, have been floated in the Philippine Congress, including one sponsored by Marcos's son Sandro, a high-ranking House member. For Franco, government lawsuits and pressure tactics risked a"chilling effect" on people who want to criticise the government.
Constitutional law professor Paolo Tamase agreed, saying that instead of invoking"national security", the government might best be served by a"pro-transparency reading of the public's right to information". New Zealand plans law change to stop private climate lawsuits
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Health Rumours Impeachment Social Media Speculation Jean Franco University Of The Philippines Facebook Tiktok Meta Jumping Jacks Old Or Edited Visuals Sarcasm Diverticulitis Kidney Disease Transplant Scars National Security Threat Diverticulitis Conspiracy Theories High-Stakes Politics 2028 Presidential Candidate Vice President Sara Duterte Arch-Rival
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Philippine Vice President Duterte facing second impeachment voteEVERY sector speaks the language of best practices. In business, the focus is on efficiency and competitiveness, in education, on quality and innovation, in public health, on saving lives and reducing long-term costs.
Read more »
Philippine lawmakers impeach VP Sara Duterte, set stage for Senate trialEVERY sector speaks the language of best practices. In business, the focus is on efficiency and competitiveness, in education, on quality and innovation, in public health, on saving lives and reducing long-term costs.
Read more »
Philippine Lawmakers File Impeachment Complaint Against Vice President Sara DutertePhilippine lawmakers today overwhelmingly backed the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, setting the stage for a trial in the Senate. With her ally-turned-enemy Marcos limited by the constitution to a single term in office, Vice President Duterte is the clear favourite to succeed him in 2028. The impeachment could derail her bid, but there was drama in the upper house Senate where a motion was passed to remove its president and replace him with Alan Peter Cayetano, a staunch loyalist of her family.
Read more »
Philippine vice-president Sara Duterte impeached again but her ouster bid hits a wall as Allies seize Philippine SenateEVERY sector speaks the language of best practices. In business, the focus is on efficiency and competitiveness, in education, on quality and innovation, in public health, on saving lives and reducing long-term costs.
Read more »