Doctored photos red-tag Makabayan bets

Top Makabayan-affiliated party-list nominees have been red-tagged using altered photos that falsely show them wearing Mao caps, headwear commonly associated with communism and marked by a five-pointed red star.

The manipulated images posted by the Facebook page Mahal Kong Pilipinas from April 11 to 23 falsely label Bayan Muna’s Neri Colmenares, ACT Teachers Partylist’s Antonio Tinio, Gabriela’s Sarah Elago and Kabataan’s Renee Co and Jose Paolo Echavez as “financers” and “protectors” of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Each nominee’s photo was overlaid with the text:

CPP-NPA-NDF PARTYLIST HUWAG IBOTO! MGA KINATAWAN NG TERORISTANG NPA (DO NOT VOTE FOR CPP-NPA-NDF PARTYLIST! REPRESENTATIVES OF THE TERRORIST NPA).

FactRakers found the doctored content extracted and altered the photos of the nominees from their party-lists’ official Facebook pages. Colmenares, Tinio, Elago and Co are their respective party-lists’ first nominees, while Echavez is Kabataan’s second. 

Colmenares' untampered photo originally appeared in three quote cards posted on Feb. 6 by Bayan Muna, featuring his comments on the House of Representatives’ impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Tinio’s original photo, uploaded by ACT Teachers last Oct. 14, showed him holding a statement against political dynasties co-signed with incumbent Rep. France Castro.

Elago was carrying a protest placard in the original photo posted by Gabriela last Dec. 10. It read, “FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS,” in commemoration of International Human Rights Day. 

Meanwhile, the unaltered photos of Co and Echavez originally appeared in a Feb. 11 post by Kabataan featuring their credentials as the party-list’s top nominees.

Mahal Kong Pilipinas' Facebook account, which has over 400 followers, has routinely red-tagged senatoriables and party-lists affiliated with the Makabayan bloc. Created in September 2022 as “Tiradortv19,” it changed its name on April 8, the same day it began red-tagging progressive party-lists.

It also shares posts from more established anti-communist pages —  Project Ano ba yan, Tanggol Bayan, RED Exposure, Resibo and Decoding Red PH — and tags them in its uploads.

This comes amid a surge of AI-aided deepfakes, fabricated audio and other altered content being used to red-tag progressive candidates in the lead-up to the 2025 midterm polls. (Related story: AI-aided red-tagging on the rise)

As of press time, the doctored photos have garnered a total of 79 reactions and 61 shares on Facebook. (MAE)