South Korean and Japanese news reports on the presidential candidacy of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for the May 9 polls have been misused on a TikTok video to suggest the two nations’ support for his bid.
A video posted on April 18 by @jasonlusanta compiled spliced clips from South Korean news outfits Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) and Yeonhap News Agency (YNA), and a report from Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) World-Japan. While the videos did report Marcos’ lead in the presidential surveys, none praised him as implied by his supporters who shared the clips online.
The KBS video, originally broadcast on Feb. 20, has a ticker that reads: “마르코스·이멜다 아들 ‘봉봉 마르코스’, 필리핀 대권 유력 (Bongbong Marcos, Philippines’ leading presidential candidate).
The counterpart article on the video’s description and posted on KBS’ website focuses on Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s “dictatorship and corruption,” and his wife Imelda Marcos’ “tens of billions of jewels, and thousands of pairs of shoes.”
The KBS article also featured University of the Philippines professor Jean Encinas who said, “If (Marcos Jr.) wins, the Philippines will retreat again. (Filipinos) haven't learned the lessons of the past."
The KBS clip was first uploaded to TikTok by @jjamppong_oppa, who translated the news ticker as “Bongbong Marcos the most powerful PH candidate.”
Meanwhile, the YNA report broadcast on Nov. 15 covered the national elections “drama,” and the tandem of Marcos and presidential daughter Sara Duterte. Yeonhap described Marcos as the son of a “dictator” who “ruled the Philippines with an iron fist for the past 21 years.”
Reporting on Marcos’ presidential bid, YNA writes, “As soon as the news was announced, human rights activists fearing a return to the dictatorship era ran out into the streets.”
The Tiktok video ends with a spliced clip of an NHK report first posted on the platform by @makihiroo on Feb. 9, a day after the campaign period started. It was cut to show only clips of Marcos' campaign kick-off at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan on Feb. 8 and has a sticker saying, “Sa Japan talaga, Marcos ang hot topic (In Japan, Marcos is really the hot topic).”
The full video, however, includes a backgrounder on Marcos and his “dictator” father’s human rights violations. It also featured UP professor Diosa Labiste, who criticized the family’s massive disinformation network.
The Tiktok video featuring the spliced clips has over 142,000 views, 24,400 likes, 791 comments and 442 shares as of writing.
Clips of the YNA news report also spread on social media. Facebook page “BBM Unite Filipino People” posted the South Korean report on April 7, which garnered over 4,600 views. (RP)