A recent post on Facebook falsely depicted Filipinos’ noncompliance with social distancing guidelines amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Facebook user CLumzee YoLk posted on June 16 a misleading photo featuring individuals leaving their footwear on top of social distancing (also called physical distancing) markers to sit side by side on the sidewalk, with President Rodrigo Duterte’s face photoshopped onto the image and swearing, “P********!”
Accompanying the photo was the caption:
SociaL Distancing Ng Mga TsineLas.. (of slippers).
In reality, the photo, said to be taken in India, was posted on Facebook as early as May 8 posted by an Indian page, Tantra t-shirts.
It was also widely shared on other platforms, such as on imgur.com by user MYSTICALNOMAD with 111,875 views, on Instagram by instagrammalayalam with more than 500 hearts, on Reddit by u/nichtnacht with 48 upvotes and on Twitter by Amit Deshpande with 43 retweets.
The individuals seen in the photo are said to be Indians in their home country not complying with their own social distancing guidelines, as seen in its caption:
Social distanceing Indian style….
The doctored photo from CLumzee YoLk misleads because it implies that the individuals in the photo are Filipinos.
The use of Duterte’s face serves as the triggering point for any user to automatically assume that the photo was taken in the Philippines. The addition of the swear word, one of the president’s favorite expressions, makes the doctored photo all the more believable.
This photo was posted on the heels of the president announcing new quarantine protocols from June 16 to June 30.
This is not the first time this Facebook account has been called out for publishing false content.
Last June 12, Rappler published a fact check of one of CLumzee YoLk’s posts, which featured a doctored photo of a placard of a Kadamay rallyist from the Labor Day 2017 protest. The original text on the placard, “Direktang kabit ng tubig at kuryente ngayon na (Direct connection for water and electricity now)!,” was edited to “Sweldo ng ralehista gawing regular (Make rallyists' salaries regular).” (AJK)
References
Amit Deshpande [antidespondent]. (2020, May 22). #SocialDistancing. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/antidespondent/status/1263697420187250688
CLumzee YoLk. (2020, June 16). SociaL Distancing Ng Mga TsineLas.. [Facebook update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/yolk.hizon.9/posts/2680710965478653
instagrammalayalam. (2020, May 10). social distancing Indian style. [Instagram post]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/CAAmPU7DInN/
MYSTICALNOMAD. (2020, May 9). Social distanceing Indian style… [Imgur post]. Retrieved from https://imgur.com/gallery/N7duSow
nichtnacht. (2020, May). Social distancing : Indian style. [Reddit post]. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/IndiaSpeaks/comments/ggc7om/social_distancing_indian_style/
Rappler.com. (2020, June 12). FALSE: Kadamay placard demanding regular salary for rallyists. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/fact-check/263645-kadamay-placard-demanding-regular-salary-rallyists
Tantra t-shirts. (2020, May 8). Social distancing ( Indian Style)! [Facebook update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/25052899832/posts/10157620974079833