Doctored post links Caloocan mayor to Nokor leader

A Facebook user altered a post from Caloocan Mayor Dale Gonzalo “Along” Malapitan’s official Facebook page by replacing its original video with an unrelated photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, his daughter and North Korean officials. 

Malapitan’s original post, uploaded on April 20 at 11 a.m., carried a nine-minute video of the inauguration of Caloocan Connect, a local coworking space.

The altered version was posted the same day at 9:50 p.m.  by user ジャルデレザ 猿 (Jarudereza Monkey) in the public group House of Representa-thieves: Butasang Pambulsa, with the caption:

lupit naman ng supreme leader natin sa caloocan (Our supreme leader in Caloocan is so intense)!

The altered version mimicked the format of the original Facebook post but replaced the video with the Kim photo. 

The original video showed the prayer service, ribbon-cutting ceremony and coin tossing ritual during the opening of the coworking space.

A reverse image search traced the Kim photo to images released by the Korean Central News Agency and used by news outlets, including Reuters, about Kim supervising ballistic missile tests on April 19.  

The user contributed other altered content to the same Facebook group targeting the Caloocan mayor. including photos and videos linking the city to North Korea.  These included a reuploaded video of the Caloocan cityhood motorcade with the caption: 

tara na sa North Korea (let’s go to North Korea)!

A review of Malapitan’s page from April 20 onward found no image, video or reference to North Korea.  

The page’s posts during the period were mostly public advisories, promotional materials and event documentation. 

As of writing, the post containing the edited image has garnered 2,300 reactions, 44 comments and 158 shares. The Facebook group where the photo was posted has 144,100 members. (IMD)